


The Rest of Us//Bakugou x Reader

by JKR0415



Category: anime - Fandom, myheroacademia - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Fanfic, Fanfiction, XReader, readerinsert - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 95,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28675809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JKR0415/pseuds/JKR0415
Summary: "Maybe we're soulmates... but just in another lifetime."She hides the truth about her childhood, hoping it'll go away if she ignores it.Y/N never had the normal childhood others thankfully had. Years after, she and her brother were blessed enough to escape their troubles but is stuck with reoccurring dreams that seemingly haunt her. Moving back to their hometown, the siblings attend UA High making new people but nostalgia hits her with a certain hotheaded blonde.Storyline roughly follows MHA anime/manga with a twist.#1 - bakugou#1 - MHA#1 - Katsuki#328 out of 1.2M - fanfic✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/16uCjdNbfcyzIVGv4Y0SmX?si=zIADvt6iR0OkJ562p8WjlADisclaimer: I do not own any of the MHA characters not claim rights to them. Art used for the cover was not illustrated by myself and rights go to its rightful owner who can message me if usage is not permitted. Additional characters added to the story are of my possession.
Relationships: Y/n/Bakugou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	1. (1) The Beginning

(I know weird start but trust me it gets better)

Prologue 🌙

"You okay?"

"Hmm?" I wondered, turning to lazily look at my boyfriend next to me.

"You doze off again." Ren pointed out, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me into his side. I sighed and laid down on the grass with my head on his lap.

"Sorry, didn't mean to," I mumbled watching the clouds float by minimally.

"Same dreams again keeping you up?" He wondered, messing with the lighter colored hair that framed around my face. His cold hands electrified my warm skin.

"Yeah, same annoying ones." I sighed throwing my arm over my eyes. "I don't get it. Why do they keep repeating? And something new shows up almost every time." I ranted extinguishing my frustration as I spoke.

"What was new this time?" He questioned looking down at me. He lifted my arm and took a peek at me, giving me a warm smile to calm my stress.

I sat up pulling my hat off to run my hands through my hair, stuck with my thoughts. "I dunno if I should tell you."

He stood quiet for a moment. "Why?"

I sighed and turned to sit on my knees to look directly at him. The sunlight danced across his black roots and the silver straight body of it.

There was no hiding that he was the sun's favorite despite his shadowed features.

"A guy showed up." I began, messing with the hem of my skirt.

"A guy?" He repeated, processing the words himself.

"Mhm~" I nodded feeling the slight raise of jealously in him for the small mentioning of another male.

"And what happened?"

It was hard to say since I hadn't figured out exactly what had happened either.

"Same as usual..." I started, looking at the school as I spoke. "It was back when I lived in Musutafu with my mom and Senya. We were playing with these two little boys and then out of nowhere that disappears and it shows just chaos. But like I mentioned, there was a guy there and we looked at each other." I explained, swaying my head to each side with each word.

"What did he look like?" Ren scooted closer noticing my voice soften as I finished my sentence.

"That's the thing. Like he was there and we both knew that it was a dream but I couldn't see his face. It was blurred or blocked off." My fingers played with the grass below us as I spoke. I could feel Ren's state from where he was.

Most of the time I felt like he thought I was going crazy.

"Ah~" He sighed letting out a deep sigh. "You and your strange caster dreams"

"But they're not just dreams!" I insisted, letting go of the pile of grass that was in my hand. "It has to be some kind of stupid sign, right?"

"Y/N, I think you just read too many books." He joked, standing up and wiping his uniform off.

"I swear it's not that. Have one of your soul spirit things check and I swear I'm telling the truth." I argued trying to get him to believe me.

Deep inside, I knew there had to be a reason for them. It wasn't as if dreams naturally continued night after night, leaving off from where they last ended or started from the beginning. I trusted myself enough to know that my brain wasn't playing tricks on me.

"Maybe." Ren complied, reaching his hand down to help me stand back up. He dusted off the pieces of grass on my jacket as I took some out of my high socks.

"That means never," I mumbled under my breath. He shook his head rolling his eyes at my comment.

"Let's just go to class. I'm sure we have training to focus on or something." He said grabbing my hand and kissing my forehead under my hat.

"What's the point? I'm moving back anyway so it won't be like my last days here matter." I shrugged, lacing my fingers with his.

"That's because you're going UA now and leaving the rest of us Shiketsu people behind." He mentioned, eyeing me from the corner of his eye.

"You act like I wanted my mom to be moved to a new location for her job." I laughed, opening the door into the school. "UA is still the same as here."

"I'm just teasing you. I'll miss you though. So will Emi and Anya." He stopped in the hall outside the door of our class. The bell hadn't rung so we had a few moments to talk more.

"Like those two will miss me." I chuckled. With people being scared of me most of the time, I hadn't had many friends. I also have no memory of my childhood from getting in a bad car crash so even if I did have friends I wouldn't recall them. Those two girls were the last people I'd call my friends.

"They will. We all will." He trailed off. I pulled his hat down noticing the fall in his happiness. He pushed it back up, looking into my eyes.

"Don't worry. I'll come by and visit! It'll be like I never even left." I smiled, tapping the tip of his nose. "Who knows maybe I'll have a custom life-size balloon or something of me that you can take around with you." I joked, almost seriously considering the idea.

"That would be terrifying." He laughed, opening the door as the bell rang.

"How about I make it portable! You could deflate it and put it in your backpack." I thought further, tapping my finger to my chin.

"Y/N, no." He laughed, sitting across from me at his desk. I grinned back taking in the final moments I had in class with him. After these next two days, he and I would have a distance between us.

I hoped nothing changed.


	2. (2) Metanoia

(Some of you are missing this: Before you ask what a caster is, keep reading there's an explanation after chapter 5.)

"Senya, get your sister to get out of the damn car before I'm late for work." My mom demanded as I kept my hands locked onto the seat belt.

"I would if she would stop using her powers to stick herself to it like a glue gun." He argued, pulling my arms with each word.

"I'm okay here," I concluded, tightening my grip. The black light emitted from my hands wrapping around the seat belt.

"Y/N, if you don't get out, you're coming to work with me." My mom announced turning from the front seat to look at me.

"Ugh!" I groaned, pushing my brother away so I could get out. I pulled down my blazer, fixing my hair after. As I patted the fly-aways down, I reminisced thinking over the hat that no longer sat on the crown of my head. It used to cover the mess I'd have sometimes.

"Took you long enough." Senya scoffed, rolling his eyes at me. He and I usually got along fairly well but this morning was the opposite of that.

"Stop arguing!" My mom scolded us. "You two go already before you're late. Senya, walk your sister to class before going to your own. I'll see you both later after school." She instructed before blowing air kisses and driving away.

"Let's go," Senya called grabbing my arm and pulling me behind him.

"How are you not the slightest bit nervous?" I questioned, pulling my arm back to my side.

"Why would I be?" He asked, looking at me as I caught up to meet his walking speed. He was much taller than me but despite the two years age difference, we looked almost like twins.

"Well, first of all, we're casters which alerts any other normal person's head with red flags, and two, aren't we close to where dad last was?" I wondered as he opened the door to the first-year hall. 

As most things go, our dad hadn't been known for the most heroic of things. He was titled a murder and abuser. To me, that list should be longer with the situation he put us through. Though that could be in my own faults.

"Who cares what people think about us being casters. We're here to focus on hero studies and that's it." He concluded slowing down his pacing. "And yeah, he was seen here but mom said that we'd be safer here. Don't worry. I'm here also so nothing will happen."

I sighed and stopped outside the door labeled '1-A'.

"Fine, I guess you're right," I murmured, moving hair from my face.

"When am I not? I'll see you after school, try not to scare anyone." He teased before patting my head and walking out the hall to his own building.

I turned to face the door and looked up at it, fidgeting with the buttons on the freshly stiff blazer. I would be lying if I said I loved these uniforms. Compared to Shiketsu, they were more casual and honestly more comfortable but something about the other ones made me feel empowered.

I reached for the doorknob to slide it open when a glare shined in my eyes.

It was the bracelet Ren had given me shining against the light that came through the large windows behind me.

He had given it to me for my 15th birthday. There was never a time that I hadn't been wearing it except for maybe taking a shower. Since we now had to work out this relationship long distance, this was one of the only things I had left of him to keep close.

My thoughts were interrupted once the bell had rung. I had been standing there looking aimlessly stupid like an idiot for four minutes. I wouldn't be surprised if there were people who looked at me weirdly.

"Are you going to go in? I have a class to teach."

I turned around to be faced with a man whose face and arms had been completely covered by bandages. His words ran in my head until I connected the dots.

"I'm sorry, uh-- I'm actually a new student. Are you the teacher?" I asked, unsure if he could hear me through all the bandages.

His posture uplifted for a second after I spoke.

"Yes, I am. You came at a good time. Let's go in. You could meet the rest of the students." He instructed. I moved to the side and let him open the door.

The hectic noise that muffled behind the door before had completely silenced once the door slide opened.

"Morning, class." He greeted nonchalantly. A series of gasp and immediate silence rang in the classroom.

"Mr. Aizawa, what are you doing here?" They all yelled in shock. They didn't notice me walking behind him but that could have been because I wasn't trying to make myself obvious.

"Mr. Aizawa! I am glad you're okay!" One with glasses yelled from near the back of the class. Although I kept my eyes at the ground, I couldn't help but furrow my eyebrows at his comment.

I don't know what happened to him or the class but in no way did he look 'okay'. To have his entire face covered with no hint of it showing must mean he got his shit rocked.

"My well being is irrelevant. What's more important is that your fight isn't over." He began, taking a stand at the podium. He turned to me making everyone's eyes follow me.

"Who's that?"

"Who cares! She's a total babe."

"Quiet down." He demanded at the uproar of sound. "We have a change in plans this morning. This is your new classmate, Y/N Yuma." He turned to me and I lightly swung back and forth between my toes and heels. "Introduce yourself."

I nodded lightly and took a step forward. "As he mentioned before, my name is Y/N Yuma. I'm a transfer from Shiketsu Academy. It's nice to be meeting you all." I bowed at the end of my sentence attempting to make mends with the awkward energy.

"Great now that's over. Let's—" Mr. Aizawa began before getting cut off.

"Mr. Aizawa." A girl in the back with a dark raven ponytail called to him. "Excuse my interruption but I had a concern involving our new student."

"Yes, Yaoryorzu?" He mumbled letting out a deep sigh.

"Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you are related to Ryu Yuma?" She questioned switching her attention onto me. The worry and surprise in the room had risen dramatically.

Yeah, I had been faced with the question before but each time I always stumbled over what was the right way to respond. There were either going to be two reactions of worry or relief and it wasn't too fun figuring out with of the two it would be.

"Yeah, I am," I replied nodding my head. There wasn't much I could say or do to defend myself. Being a caster was dangerous as it is and with my dad a murderous villain, it was the cherry on top of people being frightened 

of me.

Yaoryorzu kept a good eye at keeping her professionalism visible. "The safety of the students is at full risk here now. We should—"

"That's enough." He cut her off as a noticeable irritation grew. "Yuma is here to study and become a hero like the rest of you. Treat her with respect and loyalty as you would with your other peers. If I hear anything similar again I will not hesitate to remove you from my class, got it? "

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. Now, Yuma take the seat next to Bakugou." He said turning around back to his desk leaving me to figure out which desk that would be. I scolded myself once noticing it was the only empty seat in the class.

This Bakugou kid had annoyance and anger radiating off of him like the flu.

His eyes were a deep red, a color that I hadn't seen so commonly. They were practically burning holes into my skin as I was taking my seat. His hair seemed to hold the most personality as it exploded out in different directions without uniform.

Just by the looks of it, he didn't seem like someone I should mess with but something about him felt so familiar.

"Back to what I was saying, the UA sports festival is about to start," Aizawa announced. Relief swam through each other students.

"Ugh! Why would you scare us like that?" They yelled in frustration. Just by the feel of it, I could tell this was going to be much different than Shiketsu.

"Wait a second." A mustard-colored hair guy interrupted covering the face of the red-haired one who previously cheered in joy.

"Is it really such a good idea to hold the sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" A girl behind me with headphone jack ears asked.

"They could attack once we're all in the same place." The guy with the tail added, agreeing with the previous point made.

"Apparently, the administration thinks this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever. Plus they're beefing up security compared to past years. This event is a huge opportunity for all students at UA. It's not something we can cancel because of a few villains."

Just from the context of all of this, I can just assume they were attack by villains. It would explain Yaoryorzu's alerted behavior and the bandages all over Aizawa's face. There was no wrong in asking right?

"Hey," I whispered to Bakugou next to me. With his head propped onto his palm, he gave me the side-eye not putting the full effort to turn to me.

That same weird feeling came back.

"What the hell do you want?" He growled at me.

"Calm down, candlestick." I mocked from the aggression he was giving me. "I was just wondering what happened?"

"What'd ya think happened? We got attack by villains-- you dumb or something?— he just explained." He snapped, rolling his eyes at me.

"Could have said it nicely," I mumbled under my breath before sitting forward in my seat again.

Sighing as closed my notebook, I looked around at the others as they bunched up together and laughed  
Sighing as closed my notebook, I looked around at the others as they bunched up together and laughed.

During this time of the day, lunch to be in specifics, I'd be with Ren talking about the most random and irrelevant things. Obviously, there was a distance between us now and he wasn't here with me, so that was out of the question. I was back to square one: a loner.

My hand reached down into my bag where my journal hid. In there, I kept notes of my days but also of my strange reoccurring dreams. The only other person who knew of the dreams and my notes was most obviously Ren. Frankly, I would have told more people but they'd flat out say I was weird.

"Hey!" Someone called jumping in front of my desk. "I'm Ejiro Kirishima, nice to meet you." He held out his hand for me to shake.

A squished smile appeared on my face as I moved my hand from my cheek to meet his. "Nice to meet you, Kirishima. I'm y/n but I think you already know that." I laughed, attempting to brush off my awkward mistake. 

"Are you excited about the sports festival?" He asked, sitting at the desk behind mine. I turned in my seat to face him.

"Yeah, sure." I shrugged. "We don't have anything like it at Shiketsu so it'll be an experience."

"Must suck having to transfer here without your friends huh?" He wondered, leaning into the desk.

"Well, it's not like I had a ton over there anyway. As embarrassing as it is, I only had one friend and my boyfriend." I explained to him. "And I guess my brother, but he's a third-year so he's never around me during school."

"Aw, why do all the pretty ones have to be taken~" The yellow-haired one whined as he walked over to us. "I'm Denki Kaminari but you could call me your future boyfriend."

I could help but laugh at his comment from not knowing if he was being serious or not. "It's nice to meet you, Kaminari."

"Ya know, speaking of the sports festival, what is your quirk?" Kaminari questioned, sitting in his normal seat.

"She doesn't have a quirk, dumbass," Bakugou interjected as he walked to his seat from wherever he was before. "You extras never listen to shit around you."

"Damn it! I forgot." Kaminari cried out, slapping his hand to his forehead.

"Oh yeah, you're a caster, right?" Kirishima recalled.

"Mhm, but I don't think it's anything special. I basically have a quirk but I guess the term 'caster' is just more formal." I thought aloud.

"That's cool! Don't casters get chosen to a specific side?" Kirishima wondered, bringing his hand to his chin.

"Yeah. Everyone knows my dad as the villain and assumes that I took after him. Whether it be good for me, I'm both sides just smushed together." I informed them looking back and forth between them as I spoke.

"Witch," Bakugou mumbled under his breath. I turned my head over my shoulder glaring at him slightly.

"Do you have a problem, candlestick?" I sighed turning to face him. His bitchy responses were more bitchy than my brother when he was hungry.

"Don't listen to him. He's always mad at everything and everyone." Kirishima assured me, placing his hand on my arm.

"Shut it, shitty hair." Bakugou threatened, sending a cold stare toward him. I kept my eyes focused on him deeply and tried my best to remember where I had seen him before.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" I asked abruptly. Not only did my brain want to rewind that moment and take it back, but it seemed to also take him by surprise.

He didn't yell, or scream, or scowl in any way. He seemed to be shocked, almost stunned that I asked.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly after. "Ignore what I just said." He kept the small neutral face until looking in the other direction.

"Yuma, may I speak with you for a moment?" Yaoyorozu asked, walking in front of my desk.

"Sure." I nodded, following her to the back of the classroom where her desk was. 

"I'd just like to apologize." She began, folding her arms against her chest. "I didn't think about how my comment could have hurt your feelings."

I waved my hand in front of my face, shaking my head. "Don't stress it. It happens more times than you think. If I were you, I would have had the same reaction."

"I'm glad we were able to clear that up." She cheered, smiling down at me.

"Me too." I smiled.

"Momo! Come here and bring Yuma!" The pink girl called from where she and the other girls stood. Momo walked ahead as I followed behind her.

She was clearly a very professional and hardworking person. Not only did it show in her actions but I could just feel it coming through her emotions.

"Hey, Momo, Yuma." The brown-haired one greeted. I smiled back and bowed my head in response. I remember someone calling her name. I think it may be Ochaco but with my five-second memory, I could be wrong.

"You two should train with us! You know for the sports festival." The pink one offered enthusiastically to us. Her personality was bouncing off the walls. "Oh! I forgot to say, I'm Mina! This is Ocacho, Tsu, and Jiro."

"It's nice to meet you guys. Please, screw the formalities, call me, y/n." I greeted, waving my hand at each of them.

My statement earlier about having no friends had completely made a 180 now.

"Like I was saying, we were thinking about training together before the sports festival." She continued.

"I'd love to go but I think I'd prefer training on my own," Momo said, politely rejecting.

"How about you, y/n?" Ocacho wondered, spinning her attention to me.

This could be an opportunity to see Ren again and train with him as he and I had always done. Then again, I couldn't always rely on him or stick like a magnet.

"Sure, that sounds fun." I grinned, taking the offer. I could just let him know that I was going to be busy and would hang out with him another time.

We continue to talk about the sports festival and what we would expect would happen.

I found it surprising how easily I was able to fit in with them. They seemed to be so authentic and true to themselves. It was refreshing to be in a new environment and have a new start here.

Maybe moving back wasn't such a horrible thing.


	3. (3) Elysian

(Some of you are missing this: Before you ask what a caster is, keep reading there's an explanation after chapter 5.)

"Senya, get your sister to get out of the damn car before I'm late for work." My mom demanded as I kept my hands locked onto the seat belt.

"I would if she would stop using her powers to stick herself to it like a glue gun." He argued, pulling my arms with each word.

"I'm okay here," I concluded, tightening my grip. The black light emitted from my hands wrapping around the seat belt.

"Y/N, if you don't get out, you're coming to work with me." My mom announced turning from the front seat to look at me.

"Ugh!" I groaned, pushing my brother away so I could get out. I pulled down my blazer, fixing my hair after. As I patted the fly-aways down, I reminisced thinking over the hat that no longer sat on the crown of my head. It used to cover the mess I'd have sometimes.

"Took you long enough." Senya scoffed, rolling his eyes at me. He and I usually got along fairly well but this morning was the opposite of that.

"Stop arguing!" My mom scolded us. "You two go already before you're late. Senya, walk your sister to class before going to your own. I'll see you both later after school." She instructed before blowing air kisses and driving away.

"Let's go," Senya called grabbing my arm and pulling me behind him.

"How are you not the slightest bit nervous?" I questioned, pulling my arm back to my side.

"Why would I be?" He asked, looking at me as I caught up to meet his walking speed. He was much taller than me but despite the two years age difference, we looked almost like twins.

"Well, first of all, we're casters which alerts any other normal person's head with red flags, and two, aren't we close to where dad last was?" I wondered as he opened the door to the first-year hall.

As most things go, our dad hadn't been known for the most heroic of things. He was titled a murder and abuser. To me, that list should be longer with the situation he put us through. Though that could be in my own faults.

"Who cares what people think about us being casters. We're here to focus on hero studies and that's it." He concluded slowing down his pacing. "And yeah, he was seen here but mom said that we'd be safer here. Don't worry. I'm here also so nothing will happen."

I sighed and stopped outside the door labeled '1-A'.

"Fine, I guess you're right," I murmured, moving hair from my face.

"When am I not? I'll see you after school, try not to scare anyone." He teased before patting my head and walking out the hall to his own building.

I turned to face the door and looked up at it, fidgeting with the buttons on the freshly stiff blazer. I would be lying if I said I loved these uniforms. Compared to Shiketsu, they were more casual and honestly more comfortable but something about the other ones made me feel empowered.

I reached for the doorknob to slide it open when a glare shined in my eyes.

It was the bracelet Ren had given me shining against the light that came through the large windows behind me.

He had given it to me for my 15th birthday. There was never a time that I hadn't been wearing it except for maybe taking a shower. Since we now had to work out this relationship long distance, this was one of the only things I had left of him to keep close.

My thoughts were interrupted once the bell had rung. I had been standing there looking aimlessly stupid like an idiot for four minutes. I wouldn't be surprised if there were people who looked at me weirdly.

"Are you going to go in? I have a class to teach."

I turned around to be faced with a man whose face and arms had been completely covered by bandages. His words ran in my head until I connected the dots.

"I'm sorry, uh-- I'm actually a new student. Are you the teacher?" I asked, unsure if he could hear me through all the bandages.

His posture uplifted for a second after I spoke.

"Yes, I am. You came at a good time. Let's go in. You could meet the rest of the students." He instructed. I moved to the side and let him open the door.

The hectic noise that muffled behind the door before had completely silenced once the door slide opened.

"Morning, class." He greeted nonchalantly. A series of gasp and immediate silence rang in the classroom.

"Mr. Aizawa, what are you doing here?" They all yelled in shock. They didn't notice me walking behind him but that could have been because I wasn't trying to make myself obvious.

"Mr. Aizawa! I am glad you're okay!" One with glasses yelled from near the back of the class. Although I kept my eyes at the ground, I couldn't help but furrow my eyebrows at his comment.

I don't know what happened to him or the class but in no way did he look 'okay'. To have his entire face covered with no hint of it showing must mean he got his shit rocked.

"My well being is irrelevant. What's more important is that your fight isn't over." He began, taking a stand at the podium. He turned to me making everyone's eyes follow me.

"Who's that?"

"Who cares! She's a total babe."

"Quiet down." He demanded at the uproar of sound. "We have a change in plans this morning. This is your new classmate, Y/N Yuma." He turned to me and I lightly swung back and forth between my toes and heels. "Introduce yourself."

I nodded lightly and took a step forward. "As he mentioned before, my name is Y/N Yuma. I'm a transfer from Shiketsu Academy. It's nice to be meeting you all." I bowed at the end of my sentence attempting to make mends with the awkward energy.

"Great now that's over. Let's—" Mr. Aizawa began before getting cut off.

"Mr. Aizawa." A girl in the back with a dark raven ponytail called to him. "Excuse my interruption but I had a concern involving our new student."

"Yes, Yaoryorzu?" He mumbled letting out a deep sigh.

"Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you are related to Ryu Yuma?" She questioned switching her attention onto me. The worry and surprise in the room had risen dramatically.

Yeah, I had been faced with the question before but each time I always stumbled over what was the right way to respond. There were either going to be two reactions of worry or relief and it wasn't too fun figuring out with of the two it would be.

"Yeah, I am," I replied nodding my head. There wasn't much I could say or do to defend myself. Being a caster was dangerous as it is and with my dad a murderous villain, it was the cherry on top of people being frightened

of me.

Yaoryorzu kept a good eye at keeping her professionalism visible. "The safety of the students is at full risk here now. We should—"

"That's enough." He cut her off as a noticeable irritation grew. "Yuma is here to study and become a hero like the rest of you. Treat her with respect and loyalty as you would with your other peers. If I hear anything similar again I will not hesitate to remove you from my class, got it? "

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. Now, Yuma take the seat next to Bakugou." He said turning around back to his desk leaving me to figure out which desk that would be. I scolded myself once noticing it was the only empty seat in the class.

This Bakugou kid had annoyance and anger radiating off of him like the flu.

His eyes were a deep red, a color that I hadn't seen so commonly. They were practically burning holes into my skin as I was taking my seat. His hair seemed to hold the most personality as it exploded out in different directions without uniform.

Just by the looks of it, he didn't seem like someone I should mess with but something about him felt so familiar.

"Back to what I was saying, the UA sports festival is about to start," Aizawa announced. Relief swam through each other students.

"Ugh! Why would you scare us like that?" They yelled in frustration. Just by the feel of it, I could tell this was going to be much different than Shiketsu.

"Wait a second." A mustard-colored hair guy interrupted covering the face of the red-haired one who previously cheered in joy.

"Is it really such a good idea to hold the sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" A girl behind me with headphone jack ears asked.

"They could attack once we're all in the same place." The guy with the tail added, agreeing with the previous point made.

"Apparently, the administration thinks this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever. Plus they're beefing up security compared to past years. This event is a huge opportunity for all students at UA. It's not something we can cancel because of a few villains."

Just from the context of all of this, I can just assume they were attack by villains. It would explain Yaoryorzu's alerted behavior and the bandages all over Aizawa's face. There was no wrong in asking right?

"Hey," I whispered to Bakugou next to me. With his head propped onto his palm, he gave me the side-eye not putting the full effort to turn to me.

That same weird feeling came back.

"What the hell do you want?" He growled at me.

"Calm down, candlestick." I mocked from the aggression he was giving me. "I was just wondering what happened?"

"What'd ya think happened? We got attack by villains-- you dumb or something?— he just explained." He snapped, rolling his eyes at me.

"Could have said it nicely," I mumbled under my breath before sitting forward in my seat again.

Sighing as closed my notebook, I looked around at the others as they bunched up together and laughed.

During this time of the day, lunch to be in specifics, I'd be with Ren talking about the most random and irrelevant things. Obviously, there was a distance between us now and he wasn't here with me, so that was out of the question. I was back to square one: a loner.

My hand reached down into my bag where my journal hid. In there, I kept notes of my days but also of my strange reoccurring dreams. The only other person who knew of the dreams and my notes was most obviously Ren. Frankly, I would have told more people but they'd flat out say I was weird.

"Hey!" Someone called jumping in front of my desk. "I'm Ejiro Kirishima, nice to meet you." He held out his hand for me to shake.

A squished smile appeared on my face as I moved my hand from my cheek to meet his. "Nice to meet you, Kirishima. I'm y/n but I think you already know that." I laughed, attempting to brush off my awkward mistake.

"Are you excited about the sports festival?" He asked, sitting at the desk behind mine. I turned in my seat to face him.

"Yeah, sure." I shrugged. "We don't have anything like it at Shiketsu so it'll be an experience."

"Must suck having to transfer here without your friends huh?" He wondered, leaning into the desk.

"Well, it's not like I had a ton over there anyway. As embarrassing as it is, I only had one friend and my boyfriend." I explained to him. "And I guess my brother, but he's a third-year so he's never around me during school."

"Aw, why do all the pretty ones have to be taken~" The yellow-haired one whined as he walked over to us. "I'm Denki Kaminari but you could call me your future boyfriend."

I could help but laugh at his comment from not knowing if he was being serious or not. "It's nice to meet you, Kaminari."

"Ya know, speaking of the sports festival, what is your quirk?" Kaminari questioned, sitting in his normal seat.

"She doesn't have a quirk, dumbass," Bakugou interjected as he walked to his seat from wherever he was before. "You extras never listen to shit around you."

"Damn it! I forgot." Kaminari cried out, slapping his hand to his forehead.

"Oh yeah, you're a caster, right?" Kirishima recalled.

"Mhm, but I don't think it's anything special. I basically have a quirk but I guess the term 'caster' is just more formal." I thought aloud.

"That's cool! Don't casters get chosen to a specific side?" Kirishima wondered, bringing his hand to his chin.

"Yeah. Everyone knows my dad as the villain and assumes that I took after him. Whether it be good for me, I'm both sides just smushed together." I informed them looking back and forth between them as I spoke.

"Witch," Bakugou mumbled under his breath. I turned my head over my shoulder glaring at him slightly.

"Do you have a problem, candlestick?" I sighed turning to face him. His bitchy responses were more bitchy than my brother when he was hungry.

"Don't listen to him. He's always mad at everything and everyone." Kirishima assured me, placing his hand on my arm.

"Shut it, shitty hair." Bakugou threatened, sending a cold stare toward him. I kept my eyes focused on him deeply and tried my best to remember where I had seen him before.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" I asked abruptly. Not only did my brain want to rewind that moment and take it back, but it seemed to also take him by surprise.

He didn't yell, or scream, or scowl in any way. He seemed to be shocked, almost stunned that I asked.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly after. "Ignore what I just said." He kept the small neutral face until looking in the other direction.

"Yuma, may I speak with you for a moment?" Yaoyorozu asked, walking in front of my desk.

"Sure." I nodded, following her to the back of the classroom where her desk was.

"I'd just like to apologize." She began, folding her arms against her chest. "I didn't think about how my comment could have hurt your feelings."

I waved my hand in front of my face, shaking my head. "Don't stress it. It happens more times than you think. If I were you, I would have had the same reaction."

"I'm glad we were able to clear that up." She cheered, smiling down at me.

"Me too." I smiled.

"Momo! Come here and bring Yuma!" The pink girl called from where she and the other girls stood. Momo walked ahead as I followed behind her.

She was clearly a very professional and hardworking person. Not only did it show in her actions but I could just feel it coming through her emotions.

"Hey, Momo, Yuma." The brown-haired one greeted. I smiled back and bowed my head in response. I remember someone calling her name. I think it may be Ochaco but with my five-second memory, I could be wrong.

"You two should train with us! You know for the sports festival." The pink one offered enthusiastically to us. Her personality was bouncing off the walls. "Oh! I forgot to say, I'm Mina! This is Ocacho, Tsu, and Jiro."

"It's nice to meet you guys. Please, screw the formalities, call me, y/n." I greeted, waving my hand at each of them.

My statement earlier about having no friends had completely made a 180 now.

"Like I was saying, we were thinking about training together before the sports festival." She continued.

"I'd love to go but I think I'd prefer training on my own," Momo said, politely rejecting.

"How about you, y/n?" Ocacho wondered, spinning her attention to me.

This could be an opportunity to see Ren again and train with him as he and I had always done. Then again, I couldn't always rely on him or stick like a magnet.

"Sure, that sounds fun." I grinned, taking the offer. I could just let him know that I was going to be busy and would hang out with him another time.

We continue to talk about the sports festival and what we would expect would happen.

I found it surprising how easily I was able to fit in with them. They seemed to be so authentic and true to themselves. It was refreshing to be in a new environment and have a new start here.

Maybe moving back wasn't such a horrible thing.


	4. (4) Abiditory

For the next few days, I had been working my ass off.

Outside of school, Senya and I would go out for runs and train with each other. It was always challenging since he and I both knew the insides and outs of our abilities. My body ached a bit but before we knew it, it was time for the sports festival.

"Hey, Momo, Ochaco!" I walked into the waiting room seeing the two girls.

"Hello, y/n." Momo waved as I took the seat next to hers.

"Hey y/n! How are you feeling? You don't even look nervous!" Ochaco noted, leaning over the table to get a better look at me.

"I don't honestly feel nervous." I shrugged, "I'm more nervous about the things people may say about me rather than the festival itself."

"That's understandable. But their opinions don't matter! We're your friends and we know you!" Ochaco smiled, grabbing my hand.

"Ochaco is right. As someone who has made that mistake before, I believe they will love you." Momo smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"We can only hope for the best, right?" I smiled, shrugging the topic away. It was better to be optimistic than negative. Most people at this point knew that my brother and I were here.

"From an objective standpoint, I think fairly clear that I'm stronger than you."

I turned my head around to see Todoroki threatening Midoriya. Poor thing looked like he was going to shit himself.

"Uh-Um, yeah," Midoriya mumbled, his words being as weak as he felt. I expected this out of Bakugou, but maybe Todoroki felt threatened by him also?

"However, you've got All Might in your corner, helping you out. I'm not here to pry about what's going on between you two. But know I will beat you." He stated with cold envy in his eyes. I stood up quickly in my chair feeling slightly angry at him putting down someone.

Kirishima also stood up and I followed behind him. As I walked someone grabbed my wrist and yanked me back. 

"What?" I whispered to Bakugou.

"Let them fucking handle it." He quietly yelled to me.

I pulled my wrist back and crossed my arms. "Why are you acting like my freaking mom?" I mumbled, watching the boys from afar.

"What's with all these declarations of war lately?" Kaminari asked, turning to face the two boys.

"Yeah, what's the big deal?" Kirishima rested his hand on Todoroki's shoulder. "Why are you pickin' a fight all of a sudden? And right before we get started..."

Todoroki shoved Kirishima away as I grabbed his arm and pulled him a bit back. "We're not here to be each other's friends." He turned around and started to walk out of the room. "Don't forget. This isn't a team effort."

"Wait a sec, Todoroki," Midoriya muttered, looking down at the ground below him. "I don't know what's going through your head or why you'd need to tell me that you'll beat me. And, yeah, of course, you're better than me. In fact, you probably have way more potential than anyone in the hero course. That's why you got in so easily."

"Midoriya, maybe you're being a little hard on yourself, and us." Kirishima laughed, trying to ease some of the tension that kept building thicker and thicker.

"No, he's right, you guys. All the other courses-- they're coming for us with everything they're got. We're all gonna have to fight to stand out. And I'll be aiming for the top, too." Midoriya's sudden gain of confidence took all of us back with surprise. 

"Fine." Todoroki snapped. 

Today was going to be hectic but I kinda felt that he was challenging the wrong person or per se people.

"That's right! It's The Hero Course students of Class 1-A!" The stadium was filled top to bottom which people  
"That's right! It's The Hero Course students of Class 1-A!" The stadium was filled top to bottom which people. There were fireworks and screams that made my skin jump. 

I stood next to Mina and Ocacho as we walked toward the stage.

"Present Mic sure did hype us up a lot." Mina boasted while looking around at the thousands of heroes sitting in the stands.

"How could he not? I don't know if you guys know this but there's high expectations on the UA students." I mentioned, thinking back to Shiketsu and the competition between the schools.

"Kinda makes me nervous," Ochaco mumbled to herself. She rubbed her hands up and down her forearms as her nerves chilled through her body.

"Don't worry! I'm sure you'll both do amazing." I cheered, wrapping my arms around them, giving them quick side hugs. Positivity was all I wanted to give them even if it wasn't much.

Everyone from all over the world was watching us. That was all the stress. Despite that, Senya and I finally had the opportunity to show that not all casters were so terrible.

Midnight held her tassels into the air. "Now for the introductory speech!"

"Uh, someone should talk to Ms. Midnight about what she's wearing." Kirishima blushed, looking down. He was an all around gentleman. 

"Yeah. That costume should come with a warning." Denki agreed. I looked at the two chuckling at the comments. I did have to agree though. Her costume was great but maybe just not for this type of setting. 

Mineta, of course, thought otherwise.

"Silence everyone! And for the student pledge, we have Katsuki Bakugou!" She yelled, getting everyone's attention.

You have to be shitting me.

Ignoring all the stares he was receiving he walked up to the stage with his hands in his sagging pockets. He stood quiet for a moment staring at the microphone.

"I just wanna say... I'm gonna win." He spoke plainly. Everyone around us "Booed" and yelled to get him off the stage.

I don't what I expected from him.

"Why would you be so disrespectful? You're representing us all!" Iida screamed, karate-chopping the air with his hand.

"Not my fault the rest of you are just stepping stones to my victory," Katsuki deadpanned giving him a thumbs down. A series of threats went around to him as I stood there cross-armed, ready for them to start throwing pitchforks. 

Everyone threatened him as he walked down the stage and joined us back on the main floor.

The thing was that I knew he wasn't joking. He genuinely thought he would win. I admired that type of narcissism in him even if his intentions weren't to everyone's expectations. 

"Without further ado, it's time for us to get started! This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival!" A screen showed up behind her as a lottery game spinner showed up. "What could it be?" She playfully questioned. 

It spun for a long time until it finally came to a stop. 

"Ta-dah!"

"Hmm. An obstacle course." I observed.

"All 11 classes will participate in this treacherous contest. The track is four kilometers around the outside of the stadium." She announced throwing her tassels into the air again. "I don't wanna restrain anyone, at least in this game. As long as you don't leave the course, you're free to do whatever your heart desires. Now then, take your places, contestants."

I rushed over to the entrance leaving the others behind. Just by the looks of it, you were able to predict that the outcome of this would be an utter mess. Slowly one by one the green lights faded. 

Until there were no more shining.

"Begin!"

Everyone at the same time pushed through. Exactly as I had predicted, it was too freaking small for all of us to fit through. There was pushing and shoving with the echoes of yells. Me, being not 7 feet tall, struggled to even look over some people's heads.

I kept squeezing my way through until suddenly my feet froze in place.

Breaking a small piece of ice, I cupped my hands around it and let my powers do the work. 

By changing the reality of the melting piece of ice, I was able to create a hammerhead that broke the ice enough to free my feet.

"Nice try, Todoroki!" I laughed, running behind Momo. I had an advantage since only a few of my classmates knew of my powers. It left them in the dark about my full abilities. 

I continued to run and slide through the ice until I saw Mineta get launched in the air by a robot.

"Target acquired. Terminate them."

I stopped right next to Midoriya who looked up the at robot. UA never ceased to amaze me with its technologies and insane inventions. 

"It's those robots from the entrance exam!" Midoriya recognized, shaking in fear. 

At that moment, I was glad I didn't have to take any type of exam to be admitted into UA.

Someone suddenly crawled out its arm and directed it straight down. Ice-covered the ground and the robot freezing it in place as it was falling. I knew Todoroki was powerful but this was just insane.

"Careful, now. I froze them while they were off their balance." Todoroki yelled while he ran through its legs. It crashed to the ground sending dirt dust all over the place. More robots gathered around us trapping us in.

I had to think fast. I didn't have enough time to be wasting right now. While I was thinking there was a small breeze that flooded through my hair.

Perfect.

I moved my hands around bending and circulating the wind until it created a funnel. The wind danced through my hands, funneling as I collected it in my grasp. It flew back a bit before landing on the ground in a crash.

I ran past it and onto the next course.

"Here we have one of the two Casters of UA! The Hero Course's Y/N Yuma!" Present Mic screamed over the speakers.

"Where the hell do you think you're going!" The sounds of explosions rang in my ears.

"Class 1-A's Bakugo is rocketing over the obstacles!" Winning wasn't my objective but when it came to Bakugou, I had a strange need to win. His competitiveness rubbed off on me.

"For those of you who thought the first obstacle was easy. Let's see how ya feel about the second one." Present Mic cackled through the speakers above us.

Without paying much attention, I continued onto the next course. 

Seeing the students stopped and huddled for some reason didn't signal my brain to stop until I almost fell over the edge of the cliff. Mina's arm reached over and grabbed me before I tipped over and fell to my death. 

"When did they even have time to build something like this?" Ochaco questioned, thinking out loud. Tsu next to me got down on all fours and jumped across like it was nothing.

"She's fast!" Mina exclaimed surprised.

"This is insane." I sighed, under my breath. 

Squinting my eyes, I was able to see Todoroki and Bakugou in the distance, heading up the staircase to the next obstacle.

I focused my attention purely on the open space between them, blurring out my surroundings. 

Closing my eyes, I felt the air thicken around me and the yells around me turn into footsteps against the dirt.

I popped up right as Todoroki ran forward making him bump into me. His eyes widened from noticing my sudden appearance. "Sorry! I didn't mean to bump ya there but I'll see you after!" I teased, leaving him behind confused.

"What was that? I didn't know casters can teleport?" Present Mic screamed. I could just imagine him with his glasses lifted looking at the screen as if it were a glitch.

"Casters range in their abilities since they are not all the same. She's a natural which means her power is magnified or rather superior to other casters. Because she is both light and dark that makes her a catalyst also. Overall, she is powerful but shouldn't be taken as a threat." Mr. Aizawa spoke over the speakers.

Getting to the next obstacle was longer than I had expected it to take. Why did they need such distance between them?

"And now, we're finally approaching the last obstacle. Everyone had better tread carefully. You're stepping onto a minefield! If you look carefully, you can see where those little bombs are buried, so keep your eyes on the ground, folks. By the way, those land mines were designed for the games, so they might be loud and flashy, but, they're not all that powerful. Just enough to make you wet your pants!" Present Mic announced right as I approached the obstacle.

Making a slow stop, I looked around at the area. Slowly next to me, Todoroki ran up and stood next to me. 

The only thing I was able to hear was our heavy breaths and the faint sounds of everyone behind us.

I let out a deep breath and took my first steps forward. I carefully trudge around the mines making sure I didn't set one-off. I had no idea how huge the blast was nor did I want to be the first one to test it.

"Bastard!" A gust of wind pushed me forward disturbing my thoughts. "Your declaration of war was to the wrong person!" Bakugou screamed attacking the two-toned boy physically and verbally. 

They were farther ahead of me now and there were a ton more students here now than there were before. 

I got too hyper-focused on being careful that I didn't even notice how much was going on.

BOOM

A huge explosion sent a heavy gust of wind at everyone. It scared the living crap out of me as I shielded my eyes from the pink light to search for the source.

My eyes widen, almost ready to budge out of their sockets.

It was Midoriya?

He was flying in the air, holding onto a piece of scape metal. Todoroki and Bakugou finally realized he was in the process of passing them up and sprang full speed toward the exit.

I watched them as I sped up my walking but then noticed something. Midoriya made a fantastic plan but... how was he going to land?

"Freeze!" I yelled throwing my hands out. Looking up at the three boys, I ran toward them looking around. The bombs wouldn't go off until my time was up which means I was safe to go across.

I laughed slightly looking at them. 

Midoriya was upside down with panic covering his entire face, Todoroki still somehow looks good with his hair tangled up everywhere and Bakugou looked like a rabid hyena.

I made sure to keep myself close but far enough to keep myself unnoticed. Everything around me slowly started moving again as I pretended to blend in with it.

"Go!" I yelled making the surroundings move back at their normal tempo.

Midoriya turned from where he was in mid-air and slammed the metal piece into the ground sounding a whole other explosion. While Todoroki and Bakugou were distracted, he ran off to the end of the course.

Using the wind that was flowing through the tunnel, I pushed myself forward lining myself up with Todoroki who was using his ice, and Bakugou who had been exploding the air behind him.

The four of us used the remaining amount of our energy in these very last seconds of time.

Before I knew it we were at the end of the tunnel.


	5. (5) Xenization

"Izuku Midoriya is our champion!"

The crowd roared in cheers in screams over his win— unexpected it was. He was followed by Todoroki, Katsuki, then myself who came in fourth.

I stood off to the side, my hand against the wall and my head hanging down. They were shaking, my hands, and I could feel the tension build in my fingers. The rush was one I hadn't felt before yet it was comforting.

I walked over near the stage and zoned off a bit when Midnight began to speak.

"Allow me to explain. The participants will form teams of two-to-four people as they see fit. In theory, it's basically the same as a regular playground game. But there is one difference. Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course."

"That gives everyone more of a reason to want to go after each other." I thought aloud, crossing my arms.

Bakugou who was in front of me, looked over his shoulder, eyeing me.

"Now, then. The point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, 42nd place is worth five points, and 41is is worth ten. And the point value assigned to the first place contestant is... ten million!"

Everyone around Midoriya turned to him, looking at him as if he were the last piece of food in the world. I also turned to him but with a different thought in mind.

Once you had his headband, you automatically were at the top, the winner. It was common sense since his was the highest possible you could obtain. If anyone wanted to win, teaming with him was out of the question.

"These are the rules that you'll abide by. The game itself will last 15 minutes. Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you're worth thanks to your headbands. Swipe as many headbands as you can to raise your team's score. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So the more you steal, the harder it'll be to manage them."

I thought about how much more interesting it had made the situation. A team could lose points faster than they could gain them if they weren't smart about their way of thinking. This round would showcase everyone's ability to think under pressure along with defending their team as they did.

Maybe it was overconfidence but I didn't think I'd do terribly at this stage.

"You may use your quirks as much as you like. But there are still rules! Make a team fall on purpose and I'll slap you with a red card. You'll be disqualified! Now you got 15 minutes to build your teams."

Everyone scrabbled around looking for friends who they could trust and work with. I had no clue who I wanted to work with though it seemed as if everyone else did.

"Not so damn fast, you witch. You're on my team." Bakugou grabbed my arm, holding it tightly. I slapped his hand from reaction and pulled in away.

"Who died and made you the boss?" I said, crossing my arms. I had to admit: I was relieved that he had picked me since I felt no one else would.

"This is why. I don't need you and your bitchy-ass attitude ruining my chances of winning." He growled, grabbing my arm once more. He dragged us over to Sero and Kirishima who also were on the team.

"Glad to see you take me as some sort of threat." I joked. I could feel his rolling his eyes as I looked down at his grip on my wrist. God his hands were huge and a bit sweaty. The thing that threw me off was how warm they were.

But it was expected from an explosive quirk.

"So what's the plan, Bakubro?" Kirishima wondered. He looked around at the other groups noticing their depth in conversation.

"Yeah, what's your fantastic plan, huh?" I teased with a slight tease. Something about poking at him with my words was just entertaining to me.

"Your quirks are useless unless you know how to make me win." Bakugou threatened, looking at us unenthusiastic. "Don't make me regret picking you."

"Well technically," I played with my power, swirling it around my finger. "You picked me, so this is all on you." I motioned my hands around him in effect to my explanation.

"Go to hell." He growled, giving me the coldest stare. He was frustrated with my small comments, just itching to the moment to where he could shut me up. 

"Gladly," I mumbled turning around to look at the other groups to make my own observations.

Todoroki's group was beautifully selected. He had speed, brains, power, and pure skill to be able to cover all offensive and defensive measures. I didn't know much about him nor did I want to describe him as "The son of Endeavor", but I wanted to know him for who he was.

On the other hand, Midoriya had a... unique group.

From the looks of it, his group consisted of himself as the main rider and defense. He also had Ochaco, Tokoyami and I believe her name was Hatsume from the support class. As for having a balanced group, I didn't believe they fully had that.

Although they did have Midoriya and Tokoyami who I knew were skilled in battle, Ochaco was better at support since her quirk did make it difficult for her to attack melee. I was almost positive that Hatsume was in their group to bring light to her creations.

The attention was on them since they were the highest worth team.

"You're scooping out things pretty deeply, Yuma." Kirishima bubbled up, waving his hand in front of my face.

"Huh?" I turned back to them, noticing all eyes were on me. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was just taking some mental notes."

"What'd you find out? Did you finally use your powers for something useful?" Bakugou jabbed.

I rolled my eyes at his usual hostility, looking away from his contact. "I was just observing the other groups, calm down blasty boy."

"Well, we gotta figure out something." Sero shrugged.

That entire time I had zoned out they came to nothing. If I was going to work with them, we needed some bases to go off of. "Todoroki's group."

"Huh?" Bakugou said with slight irritation from my short details.

"His group is one we should worry about. Midoriya's is a bit weaker when it comes to balance but Todoroki's isn't. We need to be able to hold our own but also figure out a tactic to not completely eat shit and lose all of our points." I rambled on. I wasn't a very quiet person, but whether people knew or not. I was making observations of them.

People were two-sided, it was a natural insistent of humans. Almost like a defense mechanism. Though someone was able to conceal themselves to the public, situations like this round could show some's true intention. It was through observation that I was able to discover this. 

Trusting everyone first handedly with no backstory was almost idiotic.

"Sounds like she's got it down. Some manly thinking here." Kirishima grinned, nodding his head in approval.

"Tch." Bakugou rolled his eyes.

"That also means your ass needs to stay calm. We can't have you exploding and throwing a tantrum like a child." I stuck my finger into his chest where it bent at the hard surface.

"Don't act like you're the boss of me!" He yelled, getting in my face as he threatened me. "I'm able to be the way I want and don't need you to add your input, got that?"

"Loud and clear," I mumbled. 

There were thousands of people watching-- maybe millions. With him blowing up at any moment, we could end up being eliminated at just the second round. From the bits of him that I knew, I could just tell he wouldn't like that.

"Oh, goody. It's time to get this party started." Midnight sang, stretching her arms across her chest.

"After 15 to pick teammates and talk strategy, 12 cavalry teams are preparing to go head-to-head!" Present Mic's voice bounced off the stadium walls into our ear canals.

"Ow! Bakugou just-- Why would you step on my fucking shoulder! Please, use your brain for once and not do that." I yelled at the blonde, digging my fingernails into his ankle that I held onto.

"Guys, c'mon, we gotta work as a team." Kirishima groaned. 

"Why did I pick this group?" Sero wondered to himself quietly.

"It's time for an arena-thumping UA battle royale!" Present Mic continued, sounding off hundreds of screams from the crowd.

"If you lose that headband, Bakugou. We're done for. Please, try not for all of our sakes." I prayed up to him as he tied the headband on.

"Don't worry about it." He grunted, pulling the white band to tighten it. "I fucking got this. No one is gonna beat me." He grinned devilishly.

"Yeah! We got this in the bag." Kirishima agreed, turning his head to the side where I could see his smile.

"I'm gonna crush that damn nerd." 

As they counted the last few seconds, I looked up at him, staring at the back of his head. I didn't know him well--except for the fact he was an angry person-- yet it felt like parts of him were transparent. His confidence was loud and as aggressive as his desire for his passion to win. 

He pulled a threat in my body that nobody was able to--not even Ren. 

Maybe it had been because of his thoughts of winning. He hadn't thought he could, he just knew he would. This guy worked harder than I have ever seen anyone else try just to achieve his goals even if he didn't want to admit that to himself but I could just tell. 

Bakugou had worked harder than everyone here to achieve his goals and his eyes never left sight of that ambition. He was blunt with his goals which made all the things better. His attitude had been one I admired.

Because even I was too much of a damn coward for things.

"Begin!"


	6. Powers explained

Hello! I am going to explain what exactly I mean when I use the term "Caster" in the book when talking about your quirk.

Technically speaking, you don't have a quirk. You are a Caster which is a "higher being" with the ability of magic (casting). You're technically human with the essence (DNA) of a supernatural in you.

Being a caster, you and your family did not get to pick of what type you are (light or dark). This is decided by your true nature (more detail to come in future chapters I promise). You were chosen for both sides.

Casters can both theoretically and practically be considered witches, warlocks, wizards or sorcerers; however, they prefer the term Caster as it is unique and carries no Satanic innuendos as Casters have been persecuted in the past as Devil worshipers.

You are also a natural which is a term for a Caster who has magnified or superior powers compared to regular Casters. You're also a Cataclyst which is a term for a Caster who was once a Natural, but Turned Dark. This is because you're a mix of both— I KNOW IT'S A LOT OF BARE WITH ME. Your very special in the caster world but this has a lot of drawbacks.

Your dad is a dark caster (a big villain in the book) but your mom is a light. You'll learn more about it in a few chapters.

ABILITIES:   
\- elemental manipulation (only if the elements are around. You just whipped them out of your hand)  
\- time control (as you can tell it's only for a short while)  
\- reality warping (you can change the reality of a being or object. This is very versatile. An example is when you turned the ice into a hammer head and teleported)   
\- bounding (basically like a invisible super hold or lock)

If you were wondering your brother is a light caster (lucky him. He didn't go what you went through but he is very protective of you)

That's basically all? If I didn't explain something good, don't hesitate to comment on it and I'll reply as soon as I see it! A lot will be uncovered in the book.

Thank you so much for reading I honestly really appreciate the time your taking!

Todoroki book recommendations will be out later today on my Tiktok :)


	7. (6) Eccedentesiast

(flashback)

"Poor girl."

Her hands uncovered the cloth over my shoulders. Was it wrong to be so surprised by their delicate touch? It shouldn't have been surprising yet it had been. It was unfamiliar, uncomfortable to me.

Cold, the air was. The entire room was. It bounced off the blank walls, hitting my exposed skin. Bumps surfaced on my arms sending chills down my spine. For once in my life, I wanted to be warm.

"Too young to be going through this. You're like a twig. Poor thing." The nurse had seen ranges of abuse before, all ranging in severity. Yet the one she saw on me had to be one of the worst. 

I look up at her with the years of pain behind my eyes. The quote goes 'after rain comes a rainbow' but my storm was continuous. A never-ending spiral of continuous stabs that were not literal but emotional.

Being careful of the purple splotches stamped into my skin, she sponged around wiping every crust and dried drip of blood away.

It just had to be me.

Born into a family where joy turned into torture. Where being let out of my room was a blessing and seeing the sunlight was astonishing. Because to my father, I was not worthy of anything but his torture. I was the last puzzle piece to his game and he treated me with value. Yet his idea was value was much different than others. 

"Come on, sweetie. Let's get you dressed." Her voice was soothing. Reminded me of my mother's when she'd try to talk to me. It was smooth, velvet-like, almost like melted butter running down a metal surface. 

She protected me. Took care of Senya and me whenever she could, though it was not always successful. 

From birth, my life was destined for the grave. My father had no love in his heart, not even a drop. His love was for our tears and cries of pain. He took love into power, into his own values that were not justified. He had no care for us. No pity in his cold soul.

In my head, the words that my dad spoke to me rang continually, beating their curves and edges into my brain tattooing them there forever where I'd remember them.

'I'll find you.'

'You'll die.'

'I'll kill you for this.'

'You'll take after me, Y/N.'

Why was it that the man that was supposed to be my first fatherly love the one that nearly killed us?

It took my life and hers for them to help. For someone to save us.

And I couldn't forgive anyone for that.

——

"He's flying away!" I jerked my head into the sky where Midoriya's group flew away. With having Hatsume in their group, they had support items. It was an easy guide for them to have an advantage.

"Grrrr!" Bakugou growled. "Don't let him out of your sight!" I nodded my head, tailgating behind Kirishima in order to go faster. 

"We're too far. We should try to get other headbands while we're at it." I suggested. Midoriya's group was a distance away. By the time we reached them, other groups could pass us up. Besides that, it was likely another group would try to get to us.

"Yeah, she's right Bakugou. We need enough to keep us up there." Kirishima agreed.

"No! Once we get Deku's that's it." Bakugou insisted. Hard-headed as usual. Once his mind was set on an idea, that was it. There was no convincing him otherwise. 

"What's our next move?" Sero asked, looking between Kirishima and me.

I shrugged, "Ask Bakugou." As I looked up at him, a large burst exploded from his palms launching him into the air.

"Where is he going?!" Sero cried, panicked by his actions.

"Bakugou, where you going, man?!" Kirishima called out. Dust flew around us blocking the view of everything around us.

Fear washed over Midoriya's face as he watched the mad-man fly in his direction. Bakugou was clawing his hands out reaching for him as far as he could. 

I looked back down at our trio and noticed we were nowhere near under Bakugou. If he were to fall at any moment, it would be to his death. Pushing our group forward, I kept my eyes on Bakugou who reached for the headband around Midoriya's head.

As he went to grab it, dark shadow blocked his way.

"He's gonna fall-- Sero grab him!" I demanded, slapping his arm rushing him to hurry.

"Got it!"

Tape flew from his elbows, taking hold of Bakugou from around his waist and bringing him down. Though we saw him flying down at us, we weren't prepared for his weight to crash down all at once.

"Whoa! Bakugou had been separated from his horses! Is that even allowed?" Present Mic boomed in shock.

His foot locked around the back of my neck almost dropping me down to the ground. "Bakugou, what the heck are you thinking?!" I scolded, hooking his leg over while helping him sit up.

"He never touched the ground so technically, it's okay." Midnight confirmed. I couldn't help but be slightly upset at him. Only because it would have put us out of commission if he touched the ground. 

"What? I'm back on the ground, right? So shut up." He scoffed before turning back around.

This guy's life was run by risk. He never spent one second regretting a decision or thinking about what could go wrong. He was smart enough to attack Midoriya in the air knowing we'd be there to back him up.

"Fine! But please try to be careful." I huffed, hesitantly. We continued on regaining a flow after Bakugou's wild decision. Though it seemed that right after we got comfortable, others decided to execute their plan. 

Everything felt slow motioned as a group suddenly appeared in front of us. An arm reached up Bakugou's head, swiftly removing the band from around his head. Blindly, I reached back grabbing one of his teammate's arms, watching the black stick onto his skin. Was it enough to suppress his team and slow them down enough to get our points back?

I wasn't too sure myself.

"Your class is too small-minded. Think bigger." Monoma mocked, holding our headband in his grasp. He took pride in his decision. It was bold, yet so was he. It allowed him to get the upper hand in only a few seconds.

I looked back at his teammate who stared at the ash. It spread across his arm in opposite directions before His veins became more vibrant as it became to work against him.

"What did you say? Come back here!" Bakugou screamed, eyes full of fury. He was allowing his anger to blind him of everything else around him.

Their group paused still with their backs turned to us. "Midnight said the obstacle course was just the first game, and we figured they wouldn't cut that many of us right off the bat. Would they?"

"Huh?" Bakugou didn't understand. 

"Assuming they'd keep at least 40 contestants for the next event, all we had to do was make sure we stayed within that group as we ran. From our spots in the middle ranks, we could fully observe the Quirks our rivals had and judge their capabilities. Only a fool would obsess over winning the preliminary rounds, wouldn't you agree?" He taunted, squinting his eyes hypnotically.

He was a smart-ass. Something about him erk me in a way not even Bakugou had done. It was that mockery and underestimation he had toward us that twisted the knob in my resentment.

"You planned this as a class?" Bakugou asked him, curiously. We watched as he tied our headband to his pile around his neck. Their class was smart. Took the time to work together in a situation where they were the underdogs.

Although his teammate looked physically okay, I could only imagine what strain he was going through. What are in his arm was a mist, one that could break his tissue and muscle in his arm. Slowly it would twitch and spikes of pain would develop. Everyone's body could react differently which was the con of the process.

If I didn't get back to him quickly when the round ended, the effect could have been irreversible. 

"It wasn't totally unanimous, but I'd say it's playing out well," Monoma smirked, shifting his arm to his hip.

"Hey, th-they're coming..." His teammate muttered out. I was able to feel the emotion of pain coming from him. Though it shouldn't have, it made me smile a bit knowing it had been working.

"It's better than chasing after a temporary frontrunner like a horse with a carrot waving in his face."

Bakugou's eyes twitched in pure hatred as the white in his eyes had become more prominent. His legs shook as the angry flowed through his veins. I could feel it radiating from the source of his mind as only terrible thoughts flowed through it.

"Oh, while I have your attention. You're kinda famous, aren't you?" He asked the angry bull. "For being attacked by that sludge villain. You'll have to tell me about it sometime. It must be strange to always find yourself in the role of the victim."

That's where the cork flew out of the bottle.

I could just hear it in my head...

Pop

"Kirishima, we have a slight change of plans," Bakugou gritted through his teeth.

"Uh--" Kirishima and Sero panicked alarmed by the pure anguishing anger that was radiating off of Bakugou like a strong odor in the air. 

"Before we take down Deku, we're gonna kill every last one of these B-list idiots!" Bakugou declared, crunching his knuckles all at once.

There was no getting out of this now. But in a way... I didn't mind.

There was a fire in him, too large to be set out, and was only growing with the craving of victory that spread across him. He would not stop under both of his ends meet.

"Calm down, Bakugou," Kirishima suggested, slight hesitance to his tone. 

"Come on, remember what I said." I squeezed his foot in an attempt to catch his attention yet it hadn't seen to work. My worry wasn't on him but more of his reaction to if we hadn't got our headband back when the timer went off.

"You've gotta keep a level head or we'll never get our points back!" Sero agreed, continuing off my Kirishima and me.

"RAH!" He yelled grittily, exploding his fist together over our heads. "Shut up! I've never been calmer. Can't you tell? Now get after them, Kirishima!"

"Please don't make us regret this." He mumbled hesitant to do it but only did to not further upset Bakugou."

"Think it's too late for that..." I sighed, bending my knees for what I knew would be a quick take-off. Bakugou was pissed off to his max and this was the point where we wouldn't be able to stop him no matter what we said or did.

"You think you're tough?" Bakugou asked rhetorically as we approached the team. "Die!" Missing the attack, he turned to be faced with his own explosion.

"Huh. Wow. I see why you like this Quirk!" Monoma laughed mocking us but mostly Bakugou.

"Whoa! So weird, that guy has your quirk?!" Kirishima shrieked. He didn't understand the situation as easily.

"Damn it!"

"His quirk! It's able to copy other ones. You guys need to be careful." I motioned at how easily this was turning on us. This was one of the only times I had the advantage. If he even attempted to take my powers, it would reject his body and only result in harm to himself. They were created to protect my DNA.

"Stop 'em!"

"I can't move it's too sticky." Kirishima motioned to the white goo covering his entire right leg.

"Let me just-- Bakugou, don't move, please." I took myself off from his shoulder, reaching under Bakugou to make contact with the goo. One wrong move and I was going to accidentally his Bakugou and place I did not want to hit him.

The smog emerged from my fingertips mixing in with the glue. Not only would it disintegrate it down to a single dust particle, but in the human body, it was enough to act as a poison. As it spread through the body hypocalcemia would begin to happen.

If enough was put into a person's system.

"Okay, go!" I rushed, placing my hands back on Kirishima's shoulder giving it a small squeeze.

"Awesome! Let's go this." Kirishima grinned, racing forward at full speed.

Bakugou looked over his shoulder, smirking at me maliciously with glee. It hadn't been a clear sense of a friendship yet it had been a sign of an alliance. He trusted me although he didn't know me well and in a slight fashion, I almost felt similarity.

He wasn't the best at rational thinking or being the kindest to people but he stood as himself. And it worked out for him because he has friends like Kirishima and Kaminari who back him up and stay by his side.

"Losers! Get back here." Bakugou screamed, getting the attention of Monoma and his team. I felt him adjust his feet under my hands and knew what he was going to do.

As he got ready to jump, I lowered my hand and bouncing it up giving him a further lift as he rocketed to the group.

"Hey, don't just fly off on your own! Y/N why did you help him?!" Kirishima groaned.

"Tsuburaba! Stop him!" Monoma demanded rapidly.

A funnel of air came out of his mouth, circulating until it solidified right in front of Bakugou.

He grabbed onto the edge of it, holding himself up as he tried to punch through it. No matter how hard or how many times he hit the wall, it wouldn't budge.

"You look pretty stupid fighting with the air." He mocked, laughing at Bakugou.

He continued to struggle and I watched pitifully noticing I had barely done anything to help our team.

"Sero, let go of my hand." I directed, wiggling my fingers around in his hold.

"Huh? Okay." He agreed, looking over his shoulder as I kept my eyes on Bakugou in front of us.

Looking at him intensely, until I felt the air around me become lighter.

I held onto the circular wall tightly, holding onto it as my life had depended on it. Looking behind my shoulder, I noticed how confused my team looked as I switched places with Bakugou.

I ignored everyone around me and focused on the glass. It was transparent went had been an advantage to me. Flatly, my hand pressed against it. Slight sizzling happened before my hand popped through the opposite side.

I used my power to release a whip-like matter that grabbed the headbands off their heads and pulled them back to me. My chest had been pounding the entire time, making me shake lightly. 

My heart was excited, pumping in my ears loudly against the cheers of the crowds. The pressure was on yet I somehow craved more of it. More of the thing that somehow made me feel alive.

"Catch her!" Bakugou yelled, shoving Sero's side aggressively. His tape connected with me mid-air pulling me back down. 

Before fully falling on them, I looked at Bakugou switching back to our original places. 

"Team Bakugou nabs two headbands and moves into third places!" Present Mic announced making the audience roar in excitement. "This is a wacky turn of events!"

"Y/N, that was insane!" Sero complimented looking at me with wide eyes.

"Now we can advance to the next round." Kirishima sighed in relief.

"We're not done!" Bakugou shrieked knocking on Kirishima's head continuously. "We're gonna be the indisputable champions of the game!" 

I shook my head smiling lightly. Even after almost losing all our points, he still wanted to get more points. Only a maniac would have the guts like that. 

I guess I was one also.

"I couldn't brace myself earlier when I jumped. I'm not getting any more help-- Get closer!" He continued, bringing up his fist. "We'll get out points back from this idiot, then go for the big one!"

"Let's do it," I smirked feeling the high from all the rush going on.

"Heh." Kirishima grinned, leaning forward as we gained speed.

The wind slapped against my flushed cheeks. Our roller skates grinded against the ground rattling in my ears. My breathing was heavy and rapid but it was from the pure excitement that streamed through my veins.

I felt invincible.

"Elbow guy. Tape 'em!" Bakugou instructed, lifting his leg up for Sero.

"My name's Sero!" He smiled, straightening his arm to release the tape.

"Broom rider! Use the wind to power us faster toward them." Bakugou smirked, looking down at me.

I hooked my head, opening my hand backward from Kirishima's shoulder. "I hope you don't know I actually don't ride one."

"Who cares!" He shouted, blasting us forward with the extra wind I was providing.

We sped toward them faster than they expected. Using another wall to block us, Bakugou broke through the wind wall shattering it to pieces while snatching their last headband from around Monoma's neck.

The true vivace and impeccable force he had was incredible. He wanted to be the best and would take nothing other than that. I wanted to provide the best support I could in order for that to happen to him.

"Now! We're going after Deku and Todoroki." He declared. He handed me the headband to bound it to his body before we continued forward. If we happened to get it taken again, I'd be able to retrieve it back to us in seconds.

We skated over to where Todoroki and Midoriya were, rushing over as quick as we could before the timer went off.

They were hidden beyond an ice wall so Bakugou got his hands ready to burst through. He brought his hands together sparking until they blasted through the wall.

"Deku!" He jumped off our hold and back into the air.

At this point, he could be an Olympic jumper.

"Bakugou!" Kirishima called.

"He didn't tell us again," Sero murmured rolling his eyes.

"I don't know what you guys expected." I shrugged watching him in the air.

We continued below him watching the other groups go hand to hand with Bakugou waiting to see who had the points we needed.

"Dammit, Icy Hot!" Bakugou shot himself in Todoroki's direction ready to steal our winning points.

"Time's up!" Present Mic interrupted.

I let go of Kirishima's shoulder and Sero's hand watching Bakugou stop in mid-air and crash down, face forward into the ground.

"And with that, the second round is officially over!"

"Bakugou!" Sero cried as we ran to him.

"Are you okay, man?" Kirishima asked, concerned.

"That was a pretty hard fall." I laughed, covering my mouth at the sound of his face colliding with the ground repeating in my head.

"GRRRR!" He screamed into the floor, pounding his hand into it.

"Now's let's take a look at who our top four teams are!" Present Mic began. "In first place, Team Todoroki!"

I couldn't help but be a bit bummed that we didn't get first. It was so much of a rush and chaotic as fuck but in the end, I was happy that we got as far as we did despite almost losing all our points.

"In second place, Team Bakugou!"

"Kind of annoying how close we were to first place but--" I shrugged accepting the hard work we put in.

"Meh, I agree. But we're movin' on so it's all good." Sero smiled pridefully.

"I don't think our leader would agree with you. Like at all." Kirishima nodded his head to Bakugou who sat on the floor.

He was starred into the ground shaking in anger before screaming like an angry child.

I walked up to him patting his head roughly. "Stop being mad for no reason. At least we made it through the next round."

"Shut up!" He barked, glaring at me.

"Jeez, fine, Mr. Grumpy pants. I'm~ gonna go eat because carrying you is harder than it looks. You're heavy." I sighed, walking away while rubbing my arms.

"Hey Y/N! Come eat with us!" Ocacho waved to me. I smiled and headed their direction, looking at Bakugou once more.

He got up from the floor and walked in the opposite direction.

He was something else. But strangely it was refreshing.

But strangely it was refreshing  
\----


	8. (7) Pistanthrophobia

Years ago (You were 7, your brother was 9)

"Y/N?" My brother called from the other side of the car window.

I stared at the fields of rice as we drove by. They were enchanted by the sherbert creamsicle rays that glowed down from the sun, reflecting against the pools of water where the rice grew.

The light winds swayed the grass making it dance to the tempo that my foot tapping the car floor.

"Y/N." He called louder.

"Hmm?" I wondered, not turning my head to look at him.

I couldn't bring myself to.

"Hey, look at me." He insisted, taking hold of my hand from where it stood limply on the seat.

I flinched.

He gave me a sorrowful frown. "I'm not gonna hurt you, okay?" His hand reached out in front of me waiting for him to envelope with his.

I just stared at it, unsure.

All these years, this was one of the first times he and I had interacted. I would see him when I was allowed out of my room in the middle of the night. Sometimes when he would stop at my door and try to look inside.

"I promise. Pinky promise see?" He smiled, lifting his pinky close to my face.

My forehead creased as I stared at it curiously. I had never seen such a gesture. Maybe in the old books I read yet it had never seemed to me that it could happen.

Lifting mine up to his, he wrapped them around each other. His eyes sparkled so brightly at the sight.

"I'll always protect you and be there for you from here on out." He declared, grinning ear to ear. It a promise to me but mostly to himself.

To his guilt.

"Okay." I nodded. My lips curved up matching his.

It was nice.

Little did I know that our mom was sitting in the driver's seat watching the entire thing.

Tears welled her eyes as she held in her cries. For years she prayed this moment would come.

She never meant for your lives to turn out the way they did-- that was one of the last things she wanted. But it did and there was nothing she could do now but try to repay for it and be the best mother she could be to her two extraordinary children.

Because that's what you both deserved.

——

"You really think Aizawa asked for us to wear these?" Jiro asked me as we walked through the tunnels. She pulled on the top of her top trying to cover more of the bare skin.

"Honestly, I dunno." I shrugged, being frank with her. "Either way, he doesn't seem like someone I want to get pissed off."

"We even brought in cheerleaders from America to get your blood pumping! Hold up..."

Present Mic paused along with the audience. "Looks like Class 1-A is goin' full-on fanservice!"

"What?! You tricked us?" Momo started screaming at the two boys who stood giving each other a thumbs up. "You're gonna regret this!"

"I hate that I feel kinda cute in this," I grumbled, folding my arms over my open torso. There was something empowering about wearing a cheerleader's outfit.

Momo fell to the floor sighing. "Why is it I always end up falling for that little pervert's stupid schemes?" She regretted, squeezing the yellow fluff balls. Ochaco walked up to her, rubbing her back softly.

"I even used my quirk to make these outfits."

"You only did what was told of you, don't worry about it." I bent down smiling at her. "We should probably start heading to the stage to pick who we're up against," I suggested, standing back up.

We walked over to the stage where the other 14 students were. All 16 of us had to pick from a box to see who we were up against.

"Come closer and draw lots to see who you're up against. Then enjoy the pleasure of the recreational games before we start. The 16 finalists have the option of participating in those activities or sitting out to prepare for battle. I'm sure you all want to conserve your stamina. I'll start with the first-place team." Midnight ended her speech and started to walk over to where Momo and I stood.

"Um. Excuse me." I turned my head over to see Ojiro holding his hand up. "Sorry. But I'm withdrawing."

Everyone looked at him as if he were insane.

"Ojiro. No way!" Midoriya breathed out in shock.

"This is a rare chance for you to get scouted," Iida added, agreeing with Midoriya's shocked statement.

"It just wouldn't be right. I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle until the very end of it." Ojiro admitted. "I... think it was that guy's Quirk."

I squinted my eyes while trying to think about who he was up teamed up with. I prayed to the heavens there I wouldn't be up against some guy with an insane quirk.

"I know this is a great opportunity. I wish I could take advantage of it, but my conscious won't let me. "

"Think about this." Midoriya insisted.

"I have, okay?" Ojiro grunted. "Everyone gave their all in round two, but I was just someone's puppet. No way. I don't wanna advance if I don't even know how I got here. It wouldn't be fair."

After Ojiro spoke up, many more students started to also.

It was interesting that a single person's quirk could have done that. Mind control was a power that could potentially be extremely dangerous depending on who had their hands on it.

"This sort of talk is incredibly naive, my boys. That turns me on! Shoda! Ojiro! You're withdrawn!" Midnight announced.

She was bold as hell for broadcasting that in front of a group of 15-16-year-olds. She screamed Rated R from miles away to which some people enjoyed openly.

Once Shoda and Ojiro had been replaced we were finally able to see the bracket of who we were up against. I looked at the screen and followed down the line until I found my picture and name.

I was up against Shizaki from Class 1-B. Going against her was going to be fairly easy if my plan worked out. The only problem is I could be left with more drained out than usual for the remainder of the festival.

"Let's press pause for a momentary interlude! Before the battles begin, it's time for some pulse-pounding side games!"

The girls and I cheered on the others as they participated in the side games. I didn't want to waste too much of my energy so cheering on my peers was perfect.

"Hey, Bakugou!" I called to the ash-blonde as he walked by.

I ran up to him before he could get away.

"Good luck in your match. We could have our rematch if we get to fight each other." I smirked, l looking up at him challengingly.

I was still a bit upset over the last time he and I sparred with each other. I let down my guard too much.

His face froze for a moment before regaining its normal scowl. "You're the one who's gonna be needing luck." He spat before quickly walking away.

Then I remembered what I was wearing.

After changing into my PE uniform, I was now sitting on the stands with Momo as we waited for the first one on one match  
After changing into my PE uniform, I was now sitting on the stands with Momo as we waited for the first one on one match.

"It's insane that it's already the final event." I breathed, looking around the jam-packed arena. There wasn't one seat that was empty.

"I'd agree, it is quite a surreal reality," Momo replied also looking around.

The two of us hadn't exactly clicked as much as I did with Ochaco or Mina but I was willing to create a friendship to assure her I wasn't intentionally going to hurt anyone.

I found her maturity commendable.

"Who are you up against today?" I asked shifted my body to the left where she sat.

"Tokoyami. I am not sure of how I will do against him but I hope to do my best." She said full of determination.

"You don't even need to worry. For someone who got in through recommendations, I bet you will do great." I smiled. I had to reframe myself from saying she'd 'kick-ass' since I remember her saying she wasn't a fan of cursing.

"Who will you be up against?" She pondered.

"Uh, Shiozaki from Class 1-B? From what I have seen her quirk is vines. I have a plan but it's going to end up tiring me out more than her." I laughed, pulling my hair back.

"Did you hear that Ochaco will be against Bakugou?" She questioned, lowering her voice since Ochaco had been only been a short distance away from us.

I paused midway of twisting my rubber band and looked at her with my mouth wide open. "You're shitting me, right?" She shook her head in response.

At that moment I wish I could trade with her and fight him instead. The mercy he had over her was nonexistent.

"We can only hope for the best." Momo articulated. She greeted Jiro as she sat down and turned to face her.

I stood up and fixed my shirt before turning to the two girls. "I'll be right back."

Walking down the staircase, I made my way to where Ochaco and Iida sat talking.

"Hey Y/N!" Ochaco waved to me. I could feel the nerves waving off of her body. She scooted over one seat to let me sit in between her and Iida.

"Hey guys, how are you guys feeling?" I smiled, slowly sitting down.

"I would say I am feeling quite ready to continue!" Iida announced, pushing up his glasses on his nose bridge.

"Well..." Ochaco began, scratching the skin on the back of her neck. "I'm pretty sure you know but I'm up against Bakugou."

"I did hear but don't worry about it. Yes, he is a rabid mole rat sometimes." My eyes darted to where he sat, already was squinting down at me. "But he has his weaknesses too. He's not as tough and he tries to seem. I know you will do great."

"Really? You think so?" She asked, with a glint of hope in her round eyes.

"Didn't you hear me? I know~ so." I concluded. I crossed my arms in satisfaction and looked at Iida who also looked satisfied by my words.

I was turning my head to look back at Ochaco until I felt a heavy jolt fall onto my body.

"Thank you, Y/N! Now I feel a bit more confident about the battle! I know I won't beat him but I'll still try to give it my all." Ochaco's previously pale skin had returned to its natural color and her smile was as bright as ever.

I smiled and hug her back making sure to give her a comforting squeeze.

"I wish you both the best of luck!" I smiled, patting Iida on the head as he nodded back at me.

I waved at the both of them as I walked up the stairs back to Momo and Jiro.

She was a sweet girl and I wanted her to have the fullest of confidence that she could have. If she doubted herself any further I had the feeling that it would have taken effect on her performance.

As I walked up the stair, a foot suddenly stuck out making me trip and fall onto the stair in front of me.

"Watch where you're going, dumbass." I looked up to see Bakugou sitting there with a cocky smile across his face.

"Bakugou, be careful! She could have really hurt herself." Mina scolded him while helping me stand back up. I dusted off myself and glared my eyes into his ruby ones.

"Mina, do you wanna come sit with us? I have something to tell you." I gave her that 'I know you know what I'm talking about' look.

"Yup! See ya later boys." She winked, hopping over to Momo with me. "Is it about who I think it is?" She asked me as we walked up the stairs.

I nodded confirming her idea. "Yeah. He texted me again saying he was going to watch the sports festival but he said with Emi." I let out a deep breath knowing how hard this was all getting.

"Something about Ren I presume?" Momo asked as we walked up.

"Correct as always." I grieved, propping my head against my palm as my arm sat against the armrest.

When we had in between class, I told them about having a boyfriend. They practically begged me to spill out all the information about us.

"He texted her saying he was going to watch the festival but with another girl," Mina informed.

"That's strange. Are they usually so close?" Momo questioned, turning her body to face me.

"Honestly, I'm not too sure. She was one of my friends so it's kinda weird that they're hanging out all of a sudden."

I didn't know what to think. I didn't want to assume the worst but in all honesty, it was strange.

"Don't worry! How could he cheat on such a sweet person like you!" Mina encouraged, watching my arm around me and giving me a small shake.

"In all seriousness, you're one of the most authentic people I've met," Jiro added, twirling her jack around her finger.

"You guys are right, I'm probably overthinking the entire situation." I laughed shaking my head at my silliness. "I don't think I'd even be able to cheat on myself." I joked.

"Show us more pictures! You both are gorgeous together." Mina raved, shaking my arm.

"I'll show you guys other time. I'm gonna go prepare for my fight. See you later!" I waved, smiling at them.

"Good luck!"

"I wish you the best of luck."

"Kick some ass!"

I chuckled shaking my head as I walked away.

Being at UA was far different than it was at Shiketsu. Everyone had their own friends and the friend groups would never mix.

If Ren was really watching with Emi, I wanted to show both of them how much I've grown in the matter of a few weeks.


	9. (8) empathy

TW in the beginning (abuse)

"Let's go before the sun comes up." He grabbed my arm, digging his fingernails into my petite arms.

Crescent moon marks lived in my arms from each night he would grab them too roughly for my fragile skin.

He dragged me down the hall, pulling me as I could not match his large steps.

"Daddy. Where are we doing?" I wondered, quietly looking up at him.

His features were dark; his hair, his eyes, the look he would give me. It was canceled out by the paleness in his skin.

"Shut up!" He spat, raising his voice at me.

The sound of my mom washing dishes paused and I could hear Senya's bedroom door creak open to peek.

I kept my eyes down at the ground not making eye contact with any of them. I was too ashamed to.

"Ryu, she's only a child be more gentle, please. Don't take it out on the kids." My mom begged, her eyes full of pleading sorrow.

This was the cycle we went through once a month when my dad would let me outside. He said I didn't deserve to see the outside until I did what he said: learn to kill.

In his words, "Life is cruel. You have to teach people to bow down to your power as a caster. When you take my place as the most powerful dark caster, you will understand."

He shoved me outside before slapping my mom across the face. "You have no say in how I treat my kids."

He slammed the door shut, grabbing me and walking full speed toward the streets. His eyes were full of hatred and annoyance. Never once had I ever seen him smile.

"You piece of shit." His words were as harsh, ruthless. 

I was a rag doll to him, being yanked left and right like there was no internal life inside.

"Worthless if you can't even use your powers for something good." He spat, looking down at me as we walked down the midnight moon.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, holding back my tears. We shared the same blood but seeing him use his powers the way he did terrified me.

As he dragged me behind, we pasted a park. Empty and quiet it was. I had never interacted with anyone my age or near it before.

I didn't even know how to start a conversation.

Of course, I'd never had a chance to. My life was stuck like this.

"Y/N!"

I jumped up, not realizing how I daydreamed and unintentionally ignored him. "Yes, dad?"

"Pay attention to me!" He yelled, grabbing my cheeks in his hands. I was forced to look into his eyes to only be faced with a reflection of myself. I looked like him.

I hated it.

"Okay..." I mumbled, looking away. He threw my face away from his hands, scoffing at my appearance.

He stood quiet for a while looking around as if he were searching for something.

"You see that cat over there, Y/N?" He questioned, pointing to it a few feet away from us.

"Yes." I sighed, not wanting to predict what he would say to do.

"If you really love daddy, go kill it."

\------

"Even beautiful flowers have thorns."

"It's the assassin from Class 1-B. Ibara Shiozaki from the hero course! Versus the Multi-Caster we all adore and are slightly scared of."

I darted my eyes toward Present Mic as he said that making him nervous laugh. "A newcomer to the hero course, Class 1-A's Y/N Yuma!"

"Excuse me!" Shiozaki called, lifting her hand to Present Mic. "Please pardon the interruption. I'm not sure why you called me an assassin. I've come to the festival in search of victory, not to take my opponent's life. That wouldn't be in line with the values of a hero at all, sir."

Present Mic pounded his fist against the table, frustrated that he had been called out on. "Right. I'm sorry."

"Gentlemen, I didn't enter UA for wicked or selfish reasons, but to deliver salvation to others!" She sang as an angelic light flowed over her figure.

I shield my eyes to protect them from the harsh lighting.

"It is my humble quest to spread true good across this world."

"Listen, I said I was sorry!" Present Mic cried over the intercoms. I couldn't help but laugh from his panic. "That was my bad, okay?"

"I thank you for your kind understanding." She bowed in conclusion to her speech. I stood there cross-armed, rolling my eyes.

This girl had everyone wrapped around her finger. Whether it was part of her plan or not, I wasn't going to be distracted by her persona.

I was going to come out of this as the victor.

"So, anyway. Begin!"

"Don't go easy? It won't be fun if you do." I smirked.

I lifted my palm releasing black smoke and sending it toward her. It was enough of a distraction for me to get her to turn around assuming her hair would only grow at a faster tempo from the back.

"Hmph." She turned around just as I predicted and created a wall of vines that the smoke like essence absorbed.

They immediately wilted and died once the substance entered their cellular systems. I learned from an early age how dangerous it was to use my powers without planning ahead or having a solution with something had gone wrong.

Vines dug their way into the ground, popping out from underneath my feet. Thinking quickly, I grasped the vines tightly turning them into dirt.

"Didya' see that? She turned it into dirt in seconds! How is that possible?" Present Mic screamed. 

"Casters hold a lot of power even before being claimed. Not all of them have the same power so we can assume that one of hers allow the ability to change the properties of an object. Even if we did know her power, we are unaware of its full extent. Casters' powers are still an unknown factor." Mr. Aizawa monotoned, commented through his layers of bandages.

"My vines!" She cried holding onto the jagged pieces still connected to her head.

Moving myself behind her, I grabbed her arm and focused up to the box where Present Mic and Mr. Aizawa sat.

"I told you not to go easy." I gritted through my teeth only loud enough for her to hear. There was obvious annoyance in my voice and it enlaced with the creasing features on my face.

I felt a strange loath for people who underestimated my power, expecting me to be weak and not worthy of the challenge.

After going through so much, being suppressed and undervalued were the last things I wanted.

Within a few seconds, she had disappeared from the stage and joined the two teachers in their communal space. She fell to the ground looking up at the men as they shockingly looked down at the plant-haired student.

I couldn't help from having an irritable look on my face.

"HUH?" Present Mic cried, jumping out of his seat. I felt the sharpness of all the eyes in the arena burning into my skin.

"Uh-- Shiozaki has been teleported out of the stage! Yuma is the winner!" Present Mic announced.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, screams and approving roars sounded.

The few moments of confidence I had soon disappeared as my vision blurred and my head grew weary.

Moving her a few feet away seemed simple to the naked eye but was much more difficult than it looked.

Then again, maybe I'm just too weak.

As I attempted to make my way through the tunneled halls back to the stands, I had to lean against the wall for support.

A cold sweat dripped down the sides of my face as my legs grew heavier. Attempting to be a show-off was taking its toll on me.

I closed my eyes for a moment feeling the light airflow around me, empty silence ring in my ears, and complete calmness run through my crowded mind.

'You only have a few more rounds' I tried to remind myself. I only felt more pressured to stay as long as I could with Ren watching and my brother physically being here.

A faint smell of gasoline and caramel-filled my nose as I could feel the presence of someone new. "Done already? You're weaker than I thought."

With my eyes closed, I laughed slightly in my euphoric daze. "Not even close."

I could sense him in front of me with his shoulders to the wall behind him mimicking my position.

"Here." I opened my eyes and saw him holding out my water bottle and a snack size pack of M&M's. "Are you going to fucking take it or stare at my hand the entire day?" He rasped, squinting at me.

I heavily sighed and grabbed the water and downed as much of it as I could. "Thanks."

I lowered myself to the ground, sliding against the wall. I jerked my head across motioning for him to sit down somewhere.

He looked down at me a bit irked from how dazed I had been. He let out a deep growl before sitting down next to me.

He threw the candy on my lap before resting his hands on his propped knees. "Take it. I'm not holding your shit." He scoffed.

"Where did you even find this bottle?" I questioned, my eyes still closed. It was odd since I knew I left it at home by accident. There was no way he got it from anywhere else since I did have this specific bottle just for this drink.

As weird as it was, I had to get my energy from somewhere.

As a caster, your power is like a health bar. The more it went down, the less I had power and the weaker I felt. Yes, it looked like water but it was a drink that could restore that power before I ended up powerless.

At least until the next day when it regenerated.

"Your brother." He mumbled, raspily.

My eyes shot open as my eyebrows met in the middle. "How do you know who my brother is?"

Yes, I had spoken about him when he was around but I never really said his name or even what he looked like. Plus the conversation I said about Senya wasn't even with Bakugou.

"Huh-- Uh I don't-- there was a dude looking for you with this bottle. Stop assuming shit." He brushed out, stumbling over his own words. He turned his head the other direction looking down the empty hall

I didn't believe him but how could I argue against it? I wasn't there to see it myself.

"Alright, whatever you say." I shrugged, opening the candy packet. "Ya'know." I began plopping a piece of chocolate in my mouth. "You should learn to calm down more."

"You should learn to shut up." He fought back, glowering at me.

"Bad come back. But seriously, no one would want to be around a teenager that acts like an angry toddler." I derided, trying to give him simple advice.

"Like you know anything." He said under his breath.

I paused looking down at the ground with the candy ready to go in my mouth.

It caught me off guard.

"No, you're right."

From the corner of my eye, I could see him look up at me.

"You're right. I don't know anything but if one person notices it then maybe multiple people do. Don't you think?" The tone in my voice had completely changed.

My usual comical persona was indifferented by the more serious and static one I had just uncovered unwillingly.

At times, it was hard to hide under lies and trauma.

I put the candy in my mouth, snapping myself back to reality.

"Ya know." He started, speaking lower than usual. "You didn't do terrible."

I smiled at his half-compliment. "Thanks. A bit upset though that she didn't put up much of a fight. I thought it was going to be more difficult than it was."

"Just the way things happen." He trailed off. If only he was this calm at all times.

"You're right about that." I agreed.

"When am I not?" He smirked, keeping his eyes straight at the wall in front of us.

It was weird.

He truly only met me a few weeks ago but it felt as if I had spoken with him before. Like I had known him for years.

"Could the next two competitors make their way to the stage."

"We should head back. Your match is going to start soon." I sighed, shifting around a bit. Next to me, Bakugou raised himself off the ground and dusted off himself.

I pushed myself up only to fall back on my butt. I raised my hands up, pleading to him for help.

"Tch. Damn lazy ass." He grabbed my hands and pulled me up aggressively.

"You don't have to yank my arms out of their sockets." I quipped, circling my arms while holding my shoulders. I grabbed my trash and bottle holding them close to my body.

We walked out of the tunnel but before we separated, I grabbed his arm. He turned making direct eye contact with me.

"Go easy on her but don't at the same time," I advised, giving a bit of my thoughts to him.

"Huh?" He wondered, confused by my statement.

"Don't rip her to bits but don't hide your personality and power. It's not that bad once you get over the ticking time bomb part of you." I half-smiled keeping my eyes on the large audience outside.

"Whatever. I don't care about what other people think about me." He scoffed, crossing his arms.

"If you say so. Good luck, I know you won't need it." I smiled once more before spinning on the tip of my toes and walking back into the stadium.

Why did I kind of hope he was watching?

///

"Yuma, over here." I looked up to see Jiro and Tsu calling me over to them. I made my way up the stairs, making sure to look down this time as I went up.

"Hey." I beamed as I took a seat in between the two.

"Ribbit. You did great Yuma." Tsu complimented.

"Yeah, I didn't even know you could do that," Jiro added.

"Thank you. Took a bit out of me so I'm glad that we have a bit of in-between time." I said, tilting my head to the right.

"The eighth and final battle in the first round of matches." Present Mic screamed, as his voice boomed through the arena.

I leaned back in my seat feeling bits of nervousness for Ochaco.

"He was kind of a hotshot in middle school. And just look at that determined face! From the hero course, Katsuki Bakugo."

"Ugh, I hate feeling worried and it's not even my match." I groaned, resting my hand under my nose.

"I feel exactly the same," Jiro agreed, bringing her hands to her face.

"Versus, the one I'm personally rooting for, also from Class 1-A, Ochaco Uraraka!" She had such a determined and strong-minded attitude set over herself.

Once the round started, Ocacho immediately ran at him, wasting no time to get near him.

Getting her hands even remotely near Bakugou was going to give her tons of trouble. Bakugou scooped the air sending an explosion toward Ochaco.

"Urarka!" Iida and Midoriya cried from the row below us. Jiro was holding her head from the sheer panic she felt. I couldn't help but bit my lip to stop me from making any reactions.

"Looks like Bakugo's not planning on showing her any mercy," Tsu noted. I turned my attention back onto the stage, noticing the black smog was disappearing.

It looked as if Ochaco had run to the side of Bakugou but she was a diversion she used to fly behind him. She was only inches away from touching him but he turned around too quickly.

Their small cycle of Ochaco trying to sneak and Bakugou blasting her instantly continued over and over until I came to notice something.

There should have been more of a mess around the two but it seemed like all of the broken rocks had disappeared.

It was possible that they were blasted into dust but it wasn't like the rubble was his target.

I looked around the area looking for a hint to what could have happened. That's when a small rock fell from the sky. It would have gone unseen by someone who wasn't looking for it but as I followed it up, there stood a large group of broken concrete pieces.

"Listen, kid, you really wanna be a hero?" A sudden voice yelled out of nowhere. A young guy was pointing down at where the two competitors fought.

"Then stop acting like a bully. If you're so good, just send her out of bounds. Stop toying with this girl and end the match."

"Yeah, you heard the guy!" A girl screamed, agreeing with him. Once they spoke up, more people started to voice their opinions also. Booing filled the stadium in a matter of seconds.

"The crowd is now booing Bakugo! And honestly, I kinda agree with that they're sayin--" Present Mic's sentence was interrupted midway and the mic he was speaking into distorted. "Hey, whoa-- What the crap?"

"Where is the man who started this uproar?" Present Mic's voice was quickly replaced by Mr. Aizawa now. "Are you a pro? Because if you're being serious, you can go home and hang up your cape. I'd suggest looking into another career. "

Everyone sat still and wide-eyed from his passive-aggressiveness.

"Bakugo's fierceness is an acknowledgment of his opponent's strength. He knows she deserves to have made it this far, so he's making sure he does whatever it takes to keep her at bay and come out on top."

I wanted to think it was what I told him that was stopping him from fully unleashing his aggravation toward her. He fully had the power to take her out within seconds but yet he was accepting her like the true worthy competitor she was.

Everyone here had quirks that could help them in battle instead of hurting someone.

One wrong move and I could kill a person. It wasn't any better that my family name was tarnished by my dad.

The loath I had for that man.

Ochaco tapped her fingertips, sending tons of rubble down at a rapid speed. Everyone looked amazed at the realization as I sat to see what would happen.

Ochaco took off full speed toward Bakugou to what I was guessing, tap him and float him out of bounce.

With all of the debris falling, I felt like there could have been even the smallest opening for her. I had hope.

But of course, things don't always go the way we plan.

Right as Ochaco lightened herself, I could see Bakugou raise his arm up. In a matter of seconds, sparks flicked from his palms and turned into the biggest explosion I had ever seen him project on his own.

The blast was so powerful that it sent a gust of wind into the stands making everyone hold onto their seats to make sure they wouldn't fly away.

Black smoke was everywhere but once it was clear you were able to see Ochaco on the ground and notice that all the rocks had been destroyed into nothing but microscopic dust.

And all it took was one shot.

Everyone looked terrified yet amazed by how much he held. I stared closely at Bakugou inspecting him for any signs of distress.

He was focused on his hand that was shaking from pushing himself too much.

Why did I care?

"Uraraka is down!" Present Mic yelled. Silence stood in the environment as Midnight made my way slowly to the stage.

She leaned in looking at Ochaco's motionless body. After giving her a gentle pat she shook her head.

"Uraraka is KO'd. Bakugo advances to the second round!" The Pro Hero announced.

I kept my hands on my cheeks using their freezing temperature to cool down my warm cheeks. I felt so much remorse and sorrow from seeing someone so close to me in pain. She was so ambitious and saw everything from the real reality things were.

She'd turn out to be an amazing hero.

"With that, the first round is complete! We're taking a quick break and then we're back with more matches!"

"That was terrible," Jiro mumbled, shaking under her skin.

I sighed, looking around the area. "Tell me about it."


	10. (9) loss

"Begin!"

I whirled wind around my hands and threw it at Iida as he was ready to take off toward me.

It sent him back a few feet but not yet close enough as he used his hands to push against the force.

Seeing everyone use their abilities to the highest extent they could struck a cord in me.

Their willingness and determination was like I had never seen or experienced before in the few years I had gone to a hero/public school.

Running at full speed, Iida attempted to grab my arm in hopes of dragging me off the stage.

With a grunt, he swung his arm toward me reaching for my forearm. His face was full of such motivation it was a shame to see it come to an end.

Taking hold of his hand that reached out, I twisted it to his back restraining him from using his arm. I bent my knee behind the dip of his own causing him to fall to the ground.

"Monster!"

My head jerked upward right as I was about to bound Iida's hands together and win.

Everyone's attention had been shifting to the Class 1-B student who yelled hysterically while pointing directly to where I was.

"She used some kind of poison on me and I couldn't feel my arm. She's a villain!" He continued.

My eyes widened.

I hadn't even remembered of him throughout this entire event. I was supposed to follow him to the nurse and help to make sure nothing turned south.

"Yeah, isn't she the son of Ryu?" Someone else recalled, joining in his destress.

"How could UA let such a thing be let into their class? Not only one but two of them!" That statement was followed by a few more yelled and hums of agreement.

I knew somewhere my brother was as panicked as I was.

What was I supposed to do?

It was a fatal mistake on my part. I let myself become distracted. I had become too comfortable at the fact that everything was going in the direction I had wanted to and that I had been actually enjoying things.

Of course I'd let something like this happen.

"H-uhh. Now let's take a step back! Yuma is an excellent student." Present Mic tried to laugh off looking at Aizawa for help.

"Villain!"

"Villain!"

"Villain!" They cried in sync, not caring to how it made me felt.

I fell back, off of Iida, crawling in terror. It was as if my worst nightmares were coming to life.

All those nights I'd spend crying to my brother or mom explaining the fear I had in trying to become a hero.

It was stupid of me to try.

There was already too much that I couldn't fix. People wouldn't understand.

"Hey!" A new voice yelled much louder than the screams a hollers.

I looked up from my hands that were covering my face and followed the echo of where the yell had came from.

"Calling someone a villain doesn't make you damn extras any better. Get a fucking life— you don't even know the girl." Bakugou scoffed, crossing his arms in annoyance.

He stood, head held high, at the opening of a tunnel. Our class below him watched him in awe.

"Yeah! Y/N is one of the best people I've ever met." Kirishima added, standing from where he sat.

"Y/N would never try to hurt anyone!" Ochaco voiced, standing up with Mina nodding next to her.

More people I had spoken to before stood up and agreed. Their kindness overwhelmed me as I looked at each one of them smiling down at me.

"Let's not ignore the fact that she injured a student!" A man pointed out, standing up to gain everyone's attention.

I pushed myself off the ground and dusted my pants off. I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes. 

This was time I wanted to try. I wanted to take back my life and make it my own.

Not what my dad had created for me.

"It was on accident." I explained with my head held up but my eyes closed.

I was never one to admit I was wrong and shame myself for what I couldn't do. My expectations of myself were only the highest and nothing below. I knew I could be the best if that's what I wanted.

But it wasn't.

I just wanted to be seen as Y/N Yuma. Not the daughter of a murder.

"In the Calvary battle, I released a toxin into his body that could have hurt him more servilely then he was. I-" I paused. My breathe was shaky. So were my hands.

I couldn't believe that I was doing this in front of thousands of people and on live television. It was a stupid cliche that I never wanted to live again.

"I'm sorry." I continued, turning and walking off the stage.

—-

After what happened, I stayed away from everyone, hidden in one of the open waiting rooms that no one was in.

Was it out of embarrassment?

I'm not too sure honestly.

I just found it funny how people could turn on you in the matter of seconds. Made me feel like the things my dad told me as a child weren't fully wrong but were right either.

"Thought I'd find you in here." Senya sighed, closing the door as he walked into the room.

I propped my cheek against my face. "What do you want?" I wondered. I didn't want to hear from him at the moment. Or from anyone in that matter.

"Just coming in to check on you." He replied sitting down in the chair next to me. "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly, I'm okay." I lifted my legs onto his lap and sighed. "I've heard worse before, I just think it was a bit overwhelming to hear all it once as thousands of people yell it to my face, you know?"

"Com' on, Y/N. You don't always have to crack a joke out of things that upset you." Senya called me out for my coping mechanism.

"I don't know what else to do. Cry? Is that what you want because I'm definitely not doing that." I argued trying to understand what he wanted.

"I don't know either." He admitted, dropping his hands on top of my legs. I zoomed out looking down at my lap.

Ever since he and I connected as the siblings we were supposed to be, our bond only got stronger.

Our dad kept us apart since my birth. Senya never was abused as horribly as I was but he was neglected. No child should have to go through either.

"You think he's watching?" I asked still staring down.

"Oh, yeah. For sure— I have no fucking doubt about it." He chuckled dryly.

"I was thinking the same thing." I admitted, laughing along. "Sometimes I hate having his blood."

"Why sometimes? For me, it's basically all the time." Senya breathed with uncertainty.

"Because without him, I wouldn't have learned what parental love wasn't supposed to be. Yeah, he's a shit of a father who has way too many issues to count but he taught me how to use my powers also." I thought about this a lot.

Sometimes I wondered what it would have been like if he were a normal parent.

"He also made you dark." He piped in.

"But it's who I am also." I said almost immediately after. "My fate was decided the second I first used my powers. He had little effect on how I would turn out. We're lucky I didn't turn out fully like him."

"We have mom to thank for that." He sighed thinking about her in the moment.

"That I can agree to. She really was a lifesaver for the both of us." I trailed off. She was a real warrior. Went through so much and yet she stands tall and is thriving to the fullest.

"It's funny," Senya laughed.

"What is?" I wonder, staring at him as if he were insane.

"Our lives started here. In this city. Felt like in Shiketsu we were on pause. Nothing was happening." He explained, his words coming off as both communal and serious.

"And now we're back." I added, understanding what he meant.

"And now we're back..." He nodded. He looked so content ever since we got here. It was like the missing piece to his puzzle.

"How long has it been since we've lived here?" I questioned, taking my legs off his lap. They were starting to hurt from being stiff for so long.

"Off the top of my head, I'm not sure. You were like 8? I was 10." He recalled attempting to think back at the memory.

It's sad cause no matter how hard I tried I couldn't remember it.

"I wish I could remember. That car crash really got me deep in my mind." I sighed, rubbing my eyes with my hands.

He stood quiet for a moment just staring at me. "You really don't remember?"

"Nope." I answered popping the last letter. "Not a single thing."

He hummed, nodding his head slowly. Standing back up he stretched his arms in different directions.

"Come on. I bet your friends are worried about you." He grabbed my hand pulling me up.

"You're right. I should go back to them." I mumbled coping his movements from before. I followed him outside the door back into the empty halls where the stands were.

"You should thank him." He bubbled up.

"Thank who?" I questioned not knowing who he meant.

"Bakugou. He's the one who first stood up for you." He recalled. We walked up the stairs onto the next level where my class sat.

"Oh yeah huh? I forgot about him." I laughed shaking my head.

He was the last person I'd expect to stick up for me. If anything he seemed the most annoyed with me and everything I did.

"Sit with me? I don't really feel comfortable being alone." I questioned, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Anything for you, sis." He smiled, flicking my forehead.

We walked down the smaller flight of stairs, down where the stands actually stood. Everyone saw me right away and rushed over.

"Y/N, are you okay?" Ochaco stressed squeezing me into a hug.

"We were worried about you!" Mina interrupted, pushing her to the side.

Others including Jiro, Momo, Kirishima, and Kaminari came to see how I was. It made me happy to know that they really did care.

"Yeah, guys I'm fine. Just have to move on, right?" I sighed putting on a stiff smile.

"Ahem." Senya croaked from behind me.

"Right— this is my brother, Senya. He's gonna sit with us if you guys don't mind?" I chewed on the side of my lip hoping they would be okay with it.

"Alright, a new bro to the crew!" Kirishima cheered as Senya waved to them.

"OU!— we should sit. Bakugou and Todoroki's match are about to start." Mina shouted, pulling me down into the seat next to hers.

I waved over for Senya to sit and Kirishima and Denki took the seats next to his. I could feel the chaotic friendship just pouring out of them.

"Yes, it all comes down to this, folks! From the hero course, Shoto Todoroki. Versus his classmate, Katsuki Bakugou!" Everyone all around cheered for the two.

As annoying as he already was, Bakugou had to make himself look like a mole rat next to Todoroki who was god-like dreamy.

"Now Begin!"

Tons of flying ice flung out of Todoroki's hand and toward Bakugou at such a rapid speed.

He broke as much of it as he could until it became too much and caved around him. Todoroki had an insane amount of power.

I was curious to see how powerful he would be as a pro.

"Todoroki starts with a crazy ice blast! Bakugo seems to have been completely buried! Is it possible we've already got a winner down there?"

It wasn't likely Bakugou was already done. If anything he was probably furious now.

Muffled explosions started to ring in everyone's ears. It was menacing and sounds like the final scene in a horror movie.

A final explosion roared showing Bakugou at the entrance.

Launching himself forward, he came racing toward Todoroki. The multi-colored hair boy prepared to attack until the ash-blonde curved his body, dodging the attack.

"He dodged his right side with a blast!" Midoriya exclaimed next to Ocacho.

"Awesome," Ochaco whispered.

"This is insane." I gulped.

"These kids are in your class?" Senya whispered to me.

I nodded in response.

"What the fuck..."

I wanted to predict who I'd think would win but I just couldn't.

Both of them were extremely skilled and smart both in their own ways. If there could be two people in first place, it would definitely be those two.

Todoroki surfed around the stage to avoid being thrown out of bounds. Bakugou took no time to run up to him as the two held onto each other's arms readying to strike.

"Use your left side. Do it, Shoto!" Endeavor roared at his son. At that point, I saw a disturbance gleam in Todoroki's eyes.

Why were dads such horrible creatures?

I wanted to see Todoroki reach his full potential because I knew he had it in him.

If he held in all his demons and regrets, he wouldn't grow mentally or with his quirk. I knew this all from my own experience.

"I don't want there to be any doubt that I'm the best student at the festival," Bakugou yelled at the top of his lungs. "That's only possible if you come at me as hard as you can! There's no point if you don't fight me with the same power you used against Deku. If you don't wanna win this, why are you even here? Show everyone you're trying to destroy me!"

Who knew he had so much built up in him.

I didn't understand the way he though or why but for some reason, I wanted to.

"C'mon, Todoroki! Don't give up! Do your best!" Midoriya yelled quickly standing up to motivate him.

"You chose who you want to be!" I yelled, cupping my hands over my mouth.

He stared back and forth between the two of us unsure what to do. It didn't help that Bakugou was being a complete dickwad trying to pressure him into using the side he wasn't comfortable with.

Steam came off Todoroki's body and flames grew from his skin. Bakugou wasted no time to fly at him seeing he was fully ready now.

He funneled at Todoroki at such a high speed, it looked like a tornado. But at the last minute, something happened.

The surge in emotions I felt dropped in Todoroki and were replaced with extreme sadness. I couldn't be mad since I had done the exact same thing before; doubt how much something is worth.

The flames that were before on his arm, disappeared and he looked down at the ground.

I covered my face with my hands, too scared to see the outcome. Once I heard silences, I uncovered my face.

My eyes widened from the result.

Ice was broken everywhere along with the broken pieces of the stage that stood around.

Bakugou laid stomach flat on the ground while Todoroki lifelessly laid on the ice.

Seemingly being in shock, Bakugou shook his head, picking himself of the ground heading toward Todoroki's unconscious body.

"You stop messing around! This isn't a real win for me unless you try harder! It can't end this way. Now get up! Don't--" His voice cracked as he slowly faded consciousness. Pink mist flew into the air knocking him out immediately.

Midnight walked closer and look at the sleeping bodies. Her hand stiffened into the air before speaking. "Todoroki is out of bounds. That means... Bakugou is the winner!"

I sat there feeling almost empty?

I didn't know what emotions I felt at that moment.

Both of them wanted victory so badly but either didn't receive it the way they wanted or couldn't bring themselves to walk outside their comfort zone.

It was definitely clear that both of them had things to settle within themselves. All of us do.

///

"Nice work." Mr. Aizawa said. "You have the next two days of school off to recuperate. I'm sure the pros who watched the festival will wanna recruit some of you. We'll look over the draft forms and update you when you return. Get some rest. You still have a lot of training."

"Yes, sir!"

I gathered my things together quickly in order to catch up to a certain some. The gold medal hung from his mouth as he angrily and stiffly tried to walk away.

"Hey!" I greeted, pulling on the medal and twirling it around my fingers.

"Grrrrrr." His eyes grew and he began to glare into my skull.

"Calm down~ I just came to say thank you for sticking up for me. You did some big boy things for once." I joked keeping a smile on my face.

He glared at me intensely probably hoping I'd die at that moment.

"Okay well try not to stay too pissed off. Pessimism leads to heart disease." I teased further on purposely trying to get him upset.

"Go to hell." He grumbled through the ribbon in his teeth.

"I told you I would. See you later." I waved walking down the hall to meet my brother.

He was something else.


	11. (10) Liar

"I missed you so much." Ren smiled through my hair as he hugged me tightly.

I sighed dreamily, gripping the roots of his hair as I pulled him closer to my body. "I missed you more."

So much relief and serotonin release into my system from the moment he and I touched. I could have a terrible day but if I had a few seconds with him the bad wouldn't even matter to me. Something about him just made me happy.

"Come in, my mom went to work a little while ago so we could watch some movies in the living room," I suggested, grabbing his hand and leading him inside my house.

He wore a grey hoodie that touched my wrist as I pulled him in. I could smell it from where I was in front of him and just wanted to lay down wrap myself around him.

"Want anything from the kitchen?" I asked after leaving him in the living room. I opened the pantry and looked around to see what we had. "Popcorn, green pea chips, uh I don't know..?" I laughed looking at him from where he sat.

He was on his phone until putting it down and looking up. "How about popcorn? We can share." He offered, giving me a small smile.

I nodded and walked to the microwave putting it in for a minute and a half. I played with the things around it until I realized I should probably grab a bowl.

"Hey, pick a movie while I pour this into a bowl," I yelled to him from where I was.

"Got it." He hummed, as I heard him pick up the remote.

I brought the bowl closer to the microwave as I pulled the hot bag. I quickly opened it and dumped the buttery popcorn in before running to the sink to put my burned fingertips under the cold water.

"You okay?" He asked me as I closed the water tab.

I dried my hands then grabbed the bowl walking back over to where he sat on the couch.

I plopped a few in my mouth before speaking. "I just burned my fingers a bit but no tears no pain." I smiled showing him my fingers.

I put the bowl down on the table next to his phone, moving one of his legs down so I could sit between them. As I reached for the bowl again, I noticed his phone light up.

New message:  
Emi   
Message is hidden. Unlock phone to view.

"You and Emi text now?" I wondered as I kept my face at the movie that was playing. I reached into the bowl grabbing a few pieces and moving my hand back for him to grab them.

He pecked the few bits and chewed them as he spoke. "Yeah, she pretty nice actually."

A bit of jealously rose in me uncomfortably.

I shoved a few pieces of popcorn and aggressively ate them. "Hmm. Really? You do say..."

He laughed slightly, taking the bowl out of my hands, and turned his body more to look at my face. "Calm down, okay? We're just friends. With you gone, I had barely anyone so she and I have just hung out a bit."

"I know it's just weird." I pouted crossing my arms. I looked in the other direction trying to avoid his eye contact.

His fingers made their way across my skin, cupping my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him. My brown eyes connected with his grey ones.

"You trust me, don't you?" He asked, still holding onto my face. I nodded slightly still feeling uneasy. "Then there's nothing to worry about." He concluded.

He brought my face close to his connecting our lips together. They blended perfectly wrapping each other with the pink pillows we craved to feel from each other.

The kiss didn't grow anymore as he pulled away and pulled me into his chest.

"Let's watch this movie yeah?" He asked not expecting an answer-back. I hugged his arms that wrapped around my body, snuggling close to them.

Despite his reassurance, I still couldn't stop myself from looking down at his phone on the coffee table. I was the type of person to trust their instinct whenever it warned me that something was wrong but I felt like it was wrong for me to go against him.

I'm probably overthinking the entire situation. Long-distance relationships are about trust, right?

(After the movie)

"That was a cute movie," I commented, sitting up to stretch my limbs that had gone numb within that hour.

"It was alright." Ren shrugged, standing up to take the empty bowl to the kitchen.

I grabbed the remote again and browsed through the categories. "Did you want to watch something or do something else?" I asked, yelling a bit so he could hear me.

I waited a few seconds for his response and didn't hear it.

"Ren?" I wondered, furrowing my eyebrows together.

I looked down at the coffee table to see his phone gone. I shifted my weight over to look into the kitchen to see him leaning against the counter, glue to his phone.

"Huh?" He retorted, looking up from the screen.

"I was talking to you." I sighed, slightly annoyed. He continued to fiddle his thumbs across his screen still not answering my question.

I turned back around not wanting to deal with his shit at the moment. If I got mad there was no telling how bad things could escalate.

When I get mad, I will not filter myself one bit.

"Who's this?" Ren asked, popping up over my shoulder holding out his phone screen.

Looking away from the tv screen, I looked down at his phone. 

My eyes widen and I grabbed his phone from his hand zooming into the photo. 

"Where did you find this?" I asked, looking at him from where his head stuck out over my shoulder.

"Saw it online. You know this brat?" He questioned, walking around the couch to sit with me. 

"Yeah, his name is Bakugou. And he's not a brat for your information." I rolled my eyes, tossing his phone on his lap. 

I hated this about Ren.

If he saw someone that seemed the slightest bit better than him in any factor, he would try to point out their flaws and make them seem like a horrible person.

"I was on his team for the Calvary battle. If you watch then you must have seen me with him." I looked at him from the side of my eye as I flipped through the movies.

"I didn't pay attention to who you were teaming with." He replied, going back on his phone. 

"How sweet of you," I mumbled under my breath. 

"Why did you say he's not a brat?" He brought up. 

I sighed, dropping the remote to my lap. "Because he's actually a pretty admirable person."

"How's so?" 

"Well, he's uh..." Fuck, I didn't know really how to explain it without him overthinking what I meant. "Honestly, he's just hardworking, okay? I don't know what you want me to say when I know you'll bitch about it later." 

"I was just curious. Why can't I question my girlfriend about it?" He argued, dropping his phone on his lap to face me further.

"So you could just make yourself feel jealous and the victim?" I responded immediately, turning my head to look him into the eyes. They flashed with pain and anger.

Fuck. 

"I didn't mean that." I apologized, squeezing the grip on the remote. 

"No, you're just telling the truth. I don't know how I expected you to respond after pushing your buttons so much. I didn't know you care about him so much." He trailed off.

"I don't, honestly." That was a bit of a lie. "I just got upset a bit cause it feels like your putting down my friend. I love you." I grabbed his hand giving it a squeeze.

"I love you too." He smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

Ding-Ding

My eyes darted to his phone. The screen was facing down so I couldn't see who it was.

I lightly let out a deep breath and turned back to the tv as he grabbed his phone. He shifted to the corner of the couch leaving me in the middle.

"Are we gonna watch another movie?" I wondered, scrolling through the channels again. 

"Oh, uh, I actually gotta go now. Mom wants me back to help with dinner." He frowned, looking up from his phone. 

He grabbed my face in his hands and pecked me on the lips before giving another longer one on my forehead, pressing against it with slight pressure. Grabbing his sweater he stood up. 

"I'll come visit again when I can?" He pondered, looking over to me from over his shoulder as he put on his sweater.

"Seriously? Already?" I was dumbfounded. "We used to spend hours and now you're leaving after two hours of us seeing each other. I can go visit you also."

"No, it's okay. I wouldn't want you to be all alone on the train. Who knows what could happen, you know?" He insisted, guiding me to the door as he walked.

"My brother could drive me. Did you forget that?" I reminded him. I didn't understand why he was being so insistent about me going out to visit him.

It would be nice for Senya and me to drive over there just to feel refreshed and get that sense of home again since we lived there for a while.

"Senya wouldn't want to drive there." Ren disagreed.

"I would want to drive where?" Senya wondered as he walked down the stairs from his room. Around his neck was the headset that he would use to play video games with.

"Ren is saying you wouldn't want to drive back to the Shiketsu area," I informed him, looking up at him as he walked over.

He shrugged and ran his hands through his hair creating a mess. "I don't got a problem with it. Your paying for my gas though."

I turned back to Ren with my eyebrows raised. "See? I told you he wouldn't mind, babe."

"Fine, just let me know ahead of time." Ren sighed, rolling his eyes slightly at me. "I gotta go now before I miss the train, see you later. I love you."

"I love you too." I waved, giving him one last kiss before closing the door.

"What's up with him?" Senya questioned from the kitchen as I wanted back into the living room.

"What do you mean?" I asked, fixing the pillows on the couch back to their original positions.

"Yeah." He began, biting into the banana he had in his hand. "He's got a weird-ass vibe to him."

"Well, I dunno Mr. Vibe Checker. I could feel too and his emotions were just fine." I recalled, think about the feelings he radiated. "Maybe he's just tired?"

"Hmm, I guess." Senya brushed it off. "Come play some games with me? Single-player makes me feel emo."

"Sure." I agreed, following him up to his room. "Why do you have the vocabulary of a middle schooler?"

"Why do you have the vocabulary of an old person?" He shot back.

"I dunno, maybe because old people are always done with people's shit." I rolled my eyes as I sat down on the bean bag on the floor, grabbing a controller.

He set down the headset and grabbed his own remote. "Let's settle this in a Super Mario race." He challenged. "Loser is in charge of cleaning after dinner."

"Deal. Expect to lose since I am a natural-born winner." I smirked, laughing at the bet we just made.

"Sure, I'll let you believe that just because you're my sister."


	12. (11) Spice

Peace and quiet.

That's exactly what I needed after this entire week so the library was the perfect place for that. Everyone stood away from each other and said nothing.

What was there not to love?

New Message:  
Big toe  
Text me when you're done. I'll pick you up.

I looked away from the book I was reading and replied to his text with a thumbs up. He was going to text me in an hour or so to make sure I was okay, I just knew it.

Since I was looking up already, I decided to observe the area around me.

I was sitting at a long table in the center of the library with my bag next to me in the empty seat. My chin was propped on my hands as I unenthusiastically looked around. Had I earned a few stares and whispers while I was here?

Definitely but I couldn't bring myself to care. It wasn't like I was here to please everyone but myself.

I looked back down at my book and close it. Although I was enjoying it, I thought it would have been more realistic to grab a book from here since I was surrounded by them.

Putting my book back into the bag, I grabbed it and swung it onto my shoulder holding it at the top so it wouldn't fall.

Something about the library made me feel so at home. The satisfaction of when the pages skimmed each other as your fingers turned the next page of the adventure. The decomposition smell of the old vanilla must the pages would release was a pleasure for my soul.

My fingers grazed the spine of books as I strolled through the young adult section looking for something I would be interested in.

I never had a specific genre I read or preferred. When my dad was still in my life, he would lock me in my room and throw random things at me including movies and CDs. Bad thing was that I didn't even have a tv in that room so I'd read any books that were in there.

For being such a veil person, he wasn't the bright bulb in the dark.

After sighing frustratedly from not finding anything interesting, I decided to go look at the mangas and light novels. God did those authors and illustrators know how to make me feel emotions I didn't even know I had.

Walking up to the small section, I couldn't help but smile lightly. I'm too easily satisfied.

I stopped at the edge of the bookshelves bending down to look at the colorful spines. Dancing my fingertips across their tops, I scanned my eyes across until I found the one I was hoping they would have.

It was about a teenage boy who finds a notebook that could kill whoever's name he wrote inside. If that didn't scream interesting I don't know what does.

I opened it and began reading it as I walked by the open aisles.

This chapter was intense.

The boy agreed to work with this girl, who also had the notebook and was insanely obsessed with him, just to have some kind of magic eyesight from her.

Poor girl was getting played.

I looked up briefly to make sure I wasn't going to bump into anyone but as I walked by an aisle, I saw a familiar shade of ash-blonde.

I reversed backwards still holding the book in my hand and peeking into where I saw him.

He stood there with his back turned to me looking down at what I'm guessing was a manga or something.

I closed my book carefully walking up behind him but my slickness was ruined when he turned around.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" He whisper-yelled to me. His face was a mix of confused and angry but his emotions screamed panic.

"Could be asking you the same thing. I'm surprised you know how to stay quiet." I smirked, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Of course I do it's a fucking library." He scoffed. I noticed he had his hands behind his back.

He's hiding it.

"What you reading there? You looked invested in it." I teased, going on my tippy toes to look over his shoulder.

He pushed me back down and yanked the book back more so I couldn't see. "None of your damn business!"

"Oh but it is." I joked seriously, raising my eyebrows to add to the effect. "I think you forgot that my powers are a bit better than yours."

Before he could react, I grabbed his arm and kept him still taking the manga from his hold.

"Oh! What's this?" I looked down at the manga dramatically covering my mouth. "Could this be a romance manga?!"

"You damn witch! Give that back!" He growled, lunging himself forward toward me. I put my hand on his chest holding him back.

"No, no. Now I'm interested. This is one of the last things I'd expect you to read but hey everyone has their things." I shrugged opening it. "Here read mine." I shoved the manga into his chest, keeping my eyes on the one he had been reading.

"Is this the new volume?" He mumbled, flipping through the pages.

"Wow you're actually a man of culture I see." I chuckled looking up at him.

"Of course I am. I don't have bad taste that's for sure." He smirked, cockily.

"I guess I can agree to that. This manga is actually really cute." I sighed dreamily at the pages below me. I bent down to the ground placing my bag next to me.

"Are you just gonna fucking sit on the floor?" He asked shocked at how I shamelessly sat down.

"Well if you see me down here isn't that what you'd think?" I asked rhetorically. "Come on just sit with me."

"Fine, only because you look like an idiot sitting alone." He mumbled grumpily as he sat down.

"Now you do too." I mumbled extra quietly

I could help but think about the sports festival a few days ago. It was like we were reliving that entire moment but just in the library.

"Since when have you been into these?" I wondered, trying to multitask between reading and conversation.

"A while now. Tell anyone of this and your dead." He warned looking up from the book.

I nodded in agreement. It wasn't like I didn't know he was going to say something of that sorts.

"How about you?" He asked, keeping his eyes down.

"Since I was a kid. I was alone all the time so books were my escape and distraction." I tried to explain without giving too much information he didn't need to know.

He hummed in response keeping his attention to the word bubbles scattered across the squares. 

The quiet was becoming a bit too quiet for me.

I reached into my bag pulling out my phone and earbuds that was wrapped around it. Unwinding it, I put one in my ear and turned to Bakugou holding it out.

"Here." I gestured to the earbud in my hand.

"I don't want it." He stared at it disgustingly.

"Just take it. I promise my music isn't bad." I insisted shaking it toward him. He snatched it from my hand aggressively and put it in his ear. (SPOTIFY PLAYLIST IS IN MY BIO AND DESCRIPTION OF MY BOOK LMAO)

I pressed play and put my phone down between us.

Going back to my reading, I smiled. I'd be lying if I said this wasn't the idle thing I'd rather be doing all day.

From the corner of my eye, I took a quick look at Bakugou.

He looked so much more calmer. At peace. He had looked like an entirely new person when his face wasn't always in a scowl. It was kind of attractive.

Wait.

Did I just call him attractive??

No I didn't, it's just the romance manga getting to me. And the fact that I know Ren is hiding something for me.

Right?

"You're a slow reader." He sighed, slamming the book shut.

"I'm not usually but just got a lot on my mind recently." I sighed, closing the book with my hand still in it.

"Like what? You're not even that damn interesting." He muttered.

"Oh jee, thanks for the compliment." I smiled fakely. My stomach growled as I was going to speak again. "Could we get food or something and then I'll tell you?"

"Whatever. I'm not walking anywhere far with you." He grumbled passively mad while lifting himself off the ground.

He held onto the book and lent a hand down to me who still sat on the floor against the bookshelf.

"Thanks." I mumbled as he pulled me up. "I'm gonna keep this." I motioned to the manga in hold.

"Same here. Think I'll reread it again." He nodded, looking down at the black book.

"Can I recommend you a romance one before we go?" I asked bending down to grab my bag.

"I don't want your shitty recommendations." He frowned looking away.

"You don't even give me a chance." I laughed shaking my head. "Here—" I walked to the edge of the section where the romance mangas were.

I put my finger to my mouth in thought as I looked for the book. Once I found it I pulled it out and walked back to him.

"It about a girl who knew this guys from middle school but they lost connection until high school. They're basically meant to be but it's frustrating, just read it." I explained handing it to him.

"Fine. Read this one." He agreed, taking the book as he handed me another one. "Kid fights demons. His sister is one too."

I grabbed it and fanned out the pages to take a quick look. It looked interesting and if I gave him one it was only fair to read the one he gave me.

"Cool. Let's go check these out and grab some food?" I thought as he walked next to me.

"Whatever."

We walked to the line, checking out our two books individually. I offered to hold his in my book bag so he wouldn't have to carry them.

After finding a restaurant close by, we walked inside and got seated by the waiter.

The lights inside were dim and a vibrant red.

"You're gonna get the curry?!" I asked shocked. "That's like the hottest thing on the menu."

"Yeah and? You can't handle a bit of spice?" He teased, smirking as he leaned back in his seat.

"Want me to be honest? Hell no. Doesn't your ass blow up after eating that?" It was an unusual question but I was just in shock that he didn't have explosive diarrhea after eating it.

"What the hell?" He looked at me seriously. It was replaced with a small smile and he chuckled at my bluntness.

"I'm gonna get it." I concluded closing my menu. I folded my hands over the table and stared back at him.

"You just complained about it." He recalled closing his menu.

"It'll be a new experience, right? And I'm just curious to see how it is exactly." I was open to new things. Even if I was going to end up in the bathroom for hours.

"So what were you going on about earlier? Something about there being a lot in your boring life." He remembered from our conversation in the library.

"Oh yeah." I sighed holding my head in my hand that was held by the table. "I'm pretty sure my boyfriend is cheating on me."

"Break up with him." He shrugged simply.

"I can't just do that!" I disagree heavily.

"Why not?" He wondered, scrunching his face in confusion.

"I don't know." I groaned laying my head on the table. "I have no real proof it's just a suspicion."

"Then go find your proof."

I moved my eyes toward him without taking my head off the table. "I can't just drive up there and follow him."

"Yes you can." He challenged.

"You know what— I'm not talking about this anymore." I laughed drily and sat back up.

"Can't accept the fact that he found someone better?" Bakugou wondered crossing his arms.

"No it's not even that. The girl he's probably cheating on me with isn't even a good person. She's rude and doesn't care about anyone but herself." I scoffed thinking about her.

"And what makes you any better? You're pretty lame yourself." He joked, sarcastically. For some reason, I knew he was being serious but joking at the same time.

"Thanks." I laughed shaking my head. "I don't I'm just hoping the situation fixes itself even though I know it won't."

The waiter came by and stopped at our table. "Two plates of curry." He placed them in front of us and smiled.

"Hey." Bakugou called to him before he walked off. "Could you bring a glass of milk? We're gonna need it." He smirked looking back at me.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" I sighed smiling as I grabbed my fork.

"And you're a bitch. It works out." He grabbed his fork and shoved the curry in his mouth.

I looked at his face, studying it for any hints of pain from the spice. He looked back at me just smirking in satisfaction.

"You're insane." I shook my head. I hesitated before putting the fork in my mouth.

Carefully chewing, I kept my eyes adverted to my plate. My tongue was unsure of the taste. Curious of knowing what new flavor this was.

"Hey actually it's not that b—" I wanted to take back that statement immediately.

My mouth was on fire. It was warm and tingling with such pain I had never felt before in my life. It was as if someone was taking a whip to my entire mouth, whacking it over and over.

Bakugou in front of me was cracking up at the sight of me. He placed the glass of milk I didn't even know had came in front of me.

I grabbed it and started chugging the entire thing.

"You're fucking crying." He said through laughs.

I down the glass and placed my hands over my eyes, wiping the wet cries of my body yelling at me for eating such a thing.

"How do you eat that? Are you like not human or?" I wondered with my eyes wide.

"It's good. You're just weak." He put another forkful in his mouth. "Order something else I'll pay."

"No shit your paying after that pain." I fumed crossing my arms. I angrily pouted at him disapprovingly.

"You did that yourself dumbass." He mocked after coming back from ordering my plate.

"And remind me never to do that again." I breathed shaking my head.

Ding-Ding

New Message:  
Big toe  
You okay? Need me to come get you?

New Message  
Small fry  
Yeah eating out rn. Come in 15

The waiter brought my new plate of food and I started to eat. It was chicken Katsu with a small bed of rice.

"Guess you are that bad of a person." I trailed off, rolling my eyes as we walked out. He scoffed and shoved me.

"I only stood with you the entire day because I didn't want to go home. You got that?" He hissed rolling his eyes.

His emotions said otherwise.

"Yeah, okay." I nodded unconvinced. "Here's your books. Tell me what you think of the one I gave you."

"Sure, whatever." He grumbled talking them away from my hand.

My brother drove up, honking at me.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I smiled, looking over my shoulder as I walked toward it.

"Not like I have a choice." Bakugou grumbled. He gave me a short wave before shoving his free hand in his pocket and walking away.

I got inside the car, throwing my bag in the back seat.

"Was that Bakugou?" Senya asked, looking at him in the review mirror as we drove away.

"Yeah, we bump into each other at the library and just ate together," I told him, going back on my phone to play a game.

"A date?" He raised his eyebrows looking at me from the side of his eye.

"What?! No?!" I ranted.

"Alright if you say so." He sighed, putting on his arm on the armrest between us while keeping the other on the steering wheel.

I looked outside the window at the sun that was beginning to go down. I reflected on the day, thinking about it's every detail.

I could help but chew on my lip to hide the smile that was growing on my face.

Bakugou was something else.


	13. (12) caramel

"Why is that person looking at us?" I mumbled to Senya who sat next to me in the driver's seat. He was driving both of us to school since our mom carpooled and it was raining outside. 

I had my arm against the window and was looking outside when I noticed the pair in the car next to us was pointing to us and taking pictures.

"Huh? Where?" He asked, leaning forward to look past me and at the car.

They started screaming inside their car and waved at us frantically. One of them pointed at Senya and made a heart with her hands.

"I see you have a fan club now?" I beamed, covering my mouth to stop from laughing too loudly.

"Hey, what can I say? I get the girl's attention." He smirked. He made a turn and drove into the school's parking lot.

"Or maybe it's because you ate shit in the sports festival." I grinned, getting out of the car. His smile dropped and he squinted at me intensely. 

"I thought we said we wouldn't talk about that." He snarled, locking the car as we walked onto campus.

"I know, but it's just so funny. How could I not?" 

"Whatever. I'll see you later." He grumbled, walking away in annoyance. 

I turned into the building making my way to class. I looked outside admiring the dark clouds and light rain that poured down from the sky. 

Although the sun was not out and everything seemed gloomy, I found rainy days comforting. Something about them made me feel at home and more in touch with myself.

"Good morning, Y/N!" Ochaco greeted me as I walked in.

"Good morning." I smiled waved to her and Mina who was talking with Hagakure and Ojiro.

It was nice to see everyone together and talking after a few days of not seeing each other. Expect there was one person who I did see yesterday. 

"Morning, Bakugou." I greeted. I took my straps off from my backpack and then my jacket, leaving only my long sleeve.

"What do you want?" He badgered, his head resting on his palm. It was amusing how annoyed he seemed with it only being the morning. 

"Nothing just saying good morning. Why you grumpy?" I wondered as I pulled out my glasses.

"Since when do you wear glasses?" He questioned, turning in his seat to face me.

"Since forever. I just wear contacts most of the time but I ran out this morning." I explained, pushing them up my nose bridge. 

"Nerd." He smirked, making fun of me. 

"At least I look smarter now unlike you." A smile grew on my face as the one on his fell. I had much satisfaction after that.

"Morning." Mr. Aizawa sighed as he walked in. Everyone ran to their seats and stood tall.

"Good morning, Mr. Aizawa!"

"We have a big class today on Hero Informatics." He reveals. Everyone had that moment of 'uh oh' right away.

It seemed like UA never gave their students a break. There was always something to do each day. 

"You need codenames. Time to pick your hero identities." He continued. 

I felt the heavyweight on me let go as I let go of a breath I had been holding in. 

Something about Aizawa made me feel on edge although I did know he had good intentions. His emotions just gave off the vibe of 'I'd rather be at home'.

"This is related to the pro hero draft picks that I mentioned the last we were in class together. Normally, students don't have to worry about the draft yet. Not until their second or their year actually, but your class is different." He explained, unentertained. 

I raised my hand, drawing all attention to me.

"Yes, Yuma?" Aizawa called to me.

"Will we be having our internships the same time as the third years?" I wondered. My brother had been talking about it at dinner the other night and I was curious to know if it was going to be the same as us. 

"Yes, we will be. You and I will speak about that after." He noted, turning his attention back to the entire class as a whole. 

"By extending offers to first-years like you, pros are essentially investing in your potential. Any offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation, though."

All the emotions in the room were high and bouncing off the walls until I felt one drop with worry and fear. 

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as it crowded my mind. 

"Stop moving. It's like you have something up your ass." Bakugou whispered to me.

"Shut up. Something is bothering me." 

Behind us, Mineta hit his hand against the desk. "Stupid, selfish adults." 

That's it.

"Grape head, calm your ass!" Bakugou yelled to him, his face flaming with anger. Midoriya behind him jump up and slide down into his seat.

Mineta widened his eyes and shook even more but the surge of emotions had gone down.

"Thanks." I sighed at Bakugou. I slide my glasses to the top of my head before slouching in my seat. Then it hit me.

How did he know that emotions affect me?

"These hero names will likely be temporary, but take them seriously or..." I brought my attention back to the lecture. Again my problem with zoning out. 

"...you'll have hell to pay later!" Midnight exclaimed as she suddenly walked in. 

It would be a total lie if I didn't say she was my favorite Pro hero of all time.

"What you pick today could be your codename for life. You better be careful, or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent." She walked over to Aizawa, joining his side.

"Yeah. She's got a good point." Aizawa admitted. "Midnight is going to have final approval over your names. It's not my forte." He bent down grabbing the yellow sleeping bag he kept under his desk.

Typical. 

"The name you give yourself is important. It helps reinforce your image and shows what kind of hero you wanna be in the future. A codename tells people exactly what you represent." 

Midnight walked around handing us whiteboards and markers to write our hero names on.

I had thought about this for a while. 

Picking my own hero name was something I had dreamed of since I first became in love with the idea of heroes. 

With my dad being a villain, I wanted something that could describe both sides of my family and powers positively. There was so much shame over my family as it was so my hero name could be something that separated me from that negativity. 

I had the perfect thing. 

Once writing it down, I looked around at everyone as they wrote. I was curious to know what they wrote.

"Now, students, who among you is ready to share?" Midnight bubbled after a few minutes. 

Aoyama stood straight up in his seat and elegantly walked to the front with the board to his chest. With him being the first one, we were all on our toes to find out what was acceptable.

"Hold your breath." He grinned, head held high. "The Shining Hero. My name is "I can not stop twinkling! Mon amis. You can't deny my sparkle."

My sweatdropped.

My eyes followed Midnight attentively as she strolled over to Aoyama and his board. She wasn't going to accept that, was she? 

"It'll be better this way." She grabbed his board and began to write on it rapidly. "Take out the 'I' and shorten the 'cannot' to 'can't'." She turned the board to us showing the new name across it.

"It's stunning, mademoiselle." He agreed. Walking back to his desk, Mina bounced up and skipped to the front of the room.

"Okie dokie, lemme go next!" She cheered bringing her board down. "My code name: Alien Queen!" 

"Hold on." Midnight interrupted. "Like that horrible monster with the acidic blood? I don't think so." 

"Dang it." Mina fretted, slowly dragging herself to her seat. 

I kind of liked her name. How was I supposed to get mine approved if that wasn't even okay?

"Ribbit. I think I've got one. Okay if I go next?" Tsu asked, raising her hand for permission.

"Come on up!" Midnight glowed. 

"I've had this name in mind since middle school." She noted before turning the board. "Rainy Season Hero: Froppy!" 

"That's delightful!" Midnight grinned at the breakthrough of a good name. "It makes you sound approachable."

Her name really was adorable. I could imagine it also being apart of the Hello Kitty series for some reason. In the end, it really did fit her persona. 

"Froppy! Froppy! Froppy!"

After a few more people had gone up, I finally built up the courage to go up myself. 

I walked up to the pedestal keeping my board close to my chest. I wasn't nervous about what they would think of my name but more of the rejection of it since I did really like it myself. 

"My hero name is Serein," I announced, turning the board. "It's actually a french meteorology term that found while reading a book one day." I laughed, thinking about the memory.

"It sounds beautiful! But what does it mean?" Midnight asked as she walked next to me. I'm sure she could tell it was going to be a touchy subject for me. 

"It's how you would describe fine rain falling after sunset from a sky that actually has no clouds. I thought it would fit me since I am the creation of the bad and good in my family. I have light in me but also the dark that originated from my dad..." I expressed, looking down at my board.

My fingers squeezed the sides of the board, leaving the mark of its structure in my palms.

It was strange how a simple word was able to make you feel understood and represented so perfectly. Never in my life had I connected with a word that wasn't even in my day to day language.

"It's excellent. Truly encaptures how much of a gift you are, Y/N." Midnight complimented, placing her hand on my shoulder. Her voice was gentle and quieter than its usual volume. 

UA and their staff knew of my brother and I's upbringing. They made it aware to the both of us that if we needed support and guidance they would have it ready for us. 

We declined since we both had two-years in a mental asylum. Neither of us had wanted to go back to that experience. 

"King Explosion Murder!" 

I blinked a couple of times making sure I heard him correctly. 

"I'm gonna say that one's a little too violent." Midnight commented, bursting his bubble.

"Huh, whaddaya mean?!" He screamed, dropping the board face down. 

"Why don't you be Explosion Boy?" Kirishima joked, making Kaminari and I chuckle secretly at each other.

"You shut up, weird hair!" Bakugou cursed, pointing to him. "Or I'll show you exactly why murder should be in my name!" 

He stomped back to his seat, slamming the board back on his desk. I spin in my seat, leaning forward to look at the board.

"Creative. Totally sounds like the name of someone who I want to save me." I nodded, sarcastically. 

"You shut your mouth, you damn witch! It's a great name." He argued, glaring at me as I leaned forward.

Caramel. That's what he smells like. 

"Well just put Lord instead of King and I'm sure she'll love it." I joked, sitting back into my seat. 

"All we have left is young Bakugou, who needs to rethink his, and Iida. Oh, yes, and Midoriya, too." Midnight thought as she went through her mental list of people who'd gone. 

I played with the wood stripes engraved into my desk waiting for someone to go up next. The tips of my fingers curved into them, feeling the rough texture. 

Caramel is a nice smell once you get over the sweetness of it. It's sweet and creamy with a bit of a bitterness to it that could be a bit overbearing--

'Stop that!' I told myself as I rubbed my eyes to distract myself from my previous thoughts. 

I'm still in a relationship technically so thinking of another guy was clearly not okay. I just couldn't help but have him in my mind.

Paying my attention back to my classmates who were sharing their names, I couldn't help but be shocked at the one Midoriya chose for himself. 

"Really, Midoriya?" Mineta thought aloud.

"You sure about that?" Kaminari questioned also. 

"Yeah, man, remember, that could be your name forever." Kirishima tried to ask to make sure that's really what he had wanted.

"Right. I used to hate it. But, then, something changed. I guess... Someone taught me that it could have a different meaning. And that had a huge impact on how I felt. So, now I really like it." He smiled purely to himself. "Deku. That has to be my codename!"

I smiled myself after hearing his take on it. He took something that was meant to be an insult, a shame to him, and made it his own. He took back the thing that had been pulling him down for who knows how long. 

It fit him well.

"Lord Explosion Murder!" Bakugou slammed the board back down, looking at Midnight intensely for her response.

I slapped my hand against my forehead a bit harsher than I had meant to. 

"Try again! You will have to figure this out yourself." Midnight sighed shamefully. 

I didn't think he'd take me seriously on my suggestion but it was nice to know that he trusted my opinions. 

"Now that everyone's decided on their hero names, we can go back to talking about your upcoming internships." Mr. Aizawa introduced.

Midnight had woken him up a few seconds ago and he still had the sleeping back around his waist. Someone needed to give this man a vacation. 

"They'll last for one week. As for who you'll be working with. Those of you who were on the board will choose from among your offers, everyone else will have a different list. You have a lot to think about."

Sadly, I hadn't made it on the list but it was expected.

"There are around 40 agencies across the country who've agreed to take on interns from your class. Each agency has a different specialty that its heroes focus on. Keep that in mind."

Mr. Aizawa went around passing the papers down each row as the bell rang. I didn't take the time to look at mine until I passed the papers back to Shoji.

Imagine my face when I looked down and only saw my brother's name on the list. 

"Yuma, come here." Mr. Aizawa called me to the front. 

Taking my paper with me, I got up and walked over to him. Boy, did I have questions.

"I see you noticed your list." He pointed out to the confused expression on my face.

"Yeah, I did. I'm just a bit confused to why my brother's name is on here?" I questioned, pointing to it as I spoke.

"Since your abilities are different than the rest, we decided it was best you internship with your brother where he will be." He explained.

"Where is he interning?" I hesitated in asking. Senya once never told me about this unless they maybe told him not to say anything.

"With your uncle's agency. We're aware you both may not spoken with him, but with your mother's permission we were able to convince him of letting you two shadow him." He revealed taking a deep breath at the end of his sentence. 

"Oh, okay. Thank you for explaining." I bowed before turning back to my desk. 

I looked down at the paper as I thought.

I hadn't seen my uncle Karasu in years nor did I even know he had his own hero agency. My mom never spoke of him which had been strange since she always spoke some gossip about our family.

"Why the face? Didn't have what you want?" Bakugou wondered mockingly as I walked over to my desk. 

I handed him the paper as he put down his own. "See for yourself." 

"Huh?" He flipped the paper front and back before looking back up at me. "But this is just your brother's name?"

"Yup. We're interning with an uncle who I have not spoken to in who knows how long so it should be fun right?" I laughed, half-heartedly. 

I took the paper back from his desk taking a quick look at his as I did.

"You have some good people on there." I complimented.

"Who wouldn't want me as an intern?" He thought being the usual cockiness he was.

"I wouldn't." I shrugged as he slapped my arm. "Ow, okay, sorry for being honest." I laughed putting my hands up in surrender. 

Reaching into my bag, I pulled out the costume form I still hadn't worked on. With everything that had been going on recently, completing the form was the last thing on my mind.

I wrote small notes on it like it being a long sleeve bodysuit, including the color navy since it was my favorite and have a cheongsam neckline (look it up lmao). Other than that, I hadn't even started a basic sketch.

"Hey, mind helping me with this?" I turned, asking Bakugou.

"Yes." He spat.

"Great so..." I said, rolling myself over to his desk to face him. "I haven't created my hero costume and I need help." 

"Easier shit in the world. Lemme see." He snatched the paper from my hand and looked at it. He began to sketch out a figure and the thing I wanted with a few of his own ideas.

The shoulders were cut out and there looked to be two crisscrossed straps across the torso. He shaded the parts that were navy and left lighter spots labeling them 'dark gray'. 

I sat back in my seat watching his face as he worked. 

Again his face was focused yet at peace. Something about his eyes drew me into them completely mesmerizing my mind by their beauty. They were deep red pools of lava that were too fiery to touch but brilliant to watch from afar. 

He looked up making direct eye contact with me causing both of us to freeze. 

I couldn't look away no matter how hard I told myself to. He also seemed to struggle as his guard had been completely let down. There was this side of him that he would let me see that made me feel almost safe.

He gave off a warmth of familiarity.

"Tch." He coughed up, looking away from me. "Here's your damn paper." 

"Uh, thanks," I mumbled, spinning it around to look at it. 

Although it was messy, he did a really good job of designing it. While I had been daydreaming, he added a belt that connected to the upper thighs individually. Tieing it all together was a plain pair of navy books. (I'm so sorry if that doesn't make sense.)

"Wow, this turned out really well. Thank you." I smiled, looking up from the desk. 

Keeping his eyes away from me, he sat crossed arm looking at his internship list. "Yeah, whatever. You were gonna look shitty if you did it yourself."

I laughed shaking my head at his excuses. 

I knew deep down it was because he really did care.


	14. (13) Sushi

"You have everything?"

"Yeah, I think so." I sighed, slamming the trunk to his car shut. He and I were ready to leave for our internship as the rest of my class was with Aizawa.

He gave me this whole schpeel about not wearing the hero costume unless and I was told to, something about staying with my brother since he was my elder, and I think about not attracting too much attention to myself if we were in public.

If I'm being honest, I was only half-listening since my sleep schedule is out of wacks.

Walking from the back of the car to the front, I sat in the passenger's seat as Senya started the car.

"Try not to hit the street lights this time while turning?" I cautioned jokingly, reclining my seat down lower.

"Maybe, I will. Maybe, I won't." He shrugged, side-eyeing me as he drove.

I shrove his shoulder slightly with a small laugh, reaching forward to grab the manga I brought with me. I moved to my right toward my brother but covered my face with the book.

Being fully transparent, this manga Bakugou gave me to read is a lot more interesting than I thought. Never thought of there being a world full of demons with a special corps to kill them.

The fact that the boy's sister is one twists the entire thing.

"Y/N!" My brother called, pushing the book into my face.

"Ow! What?!" I cried, rubbing my nose. There for sure was going to be a mark knowing how my banana-ass bruised.

"I'm at the coffee shop drive-thru. What do you want?" He rushed, waiting for my response.

I searched for the last text box I left off on before realizing I hadn't responded. "Uh, those hot pour-over coffee but cold."

He stared at me before shaking his head and turning to the speaker. "An iced coffee, medium, please."

I put the book down and stared straight up at the ceiling.

I was curious to know how our uncle was.

He was from our dad's side. That meant he was tall, had hard facial features, and the most important thing.

He was a dark caster.

"Here." Senya waved, handing me the clear cup with the dark liquid in it.

"Thanks." I sighed, pulling the seat up to its normal height. They had my favorite cups here: the ones with the sippy cups lids.

"What are you thinking about so intensely?" He asked, continuing back in the road.

If I could summarize the way Senya was it could do it in one word. Invested.

Why? Because it could be applied everything. Invested in my overall health, invested in school, invested in his hero work, invested in his family, the list goes on.

His priorities though were always set straight which was why he always questioned me.

"How do you think Karasu will be?" I questioned taking a sip of the coffee.

Bitter yet sweet from the light sweetener that was added.

Strong enough to keep me awake but light enough to keep the jitters from crawling in me.

"Nothing like dad if that's what your worried about." He admitted, putting his own coffee in the cup holder. "Mom wouldn't let us near him if he was. You know that."

"Yeah, I do." I sighed knowing he was right as usual. "Did you know they wanted me to intern with you?"

"Yeah, they told me a while back ago and had me drive out to his agency before hand to make sure it was okay with him." He revealed.

"So you've seen him?" I asked more interested in the conversation. The last time I had seen him was when I was maybe 10.

"Mhm," He began. "Tall man, dark hair, green eyes, tattoos. Seems tuff and mean but is pretty chill."

It was funny since Senya took after our dad the most. It was almost as if he were describing himself besides the eye color.

But people called us twins with a large age cap so it was a reminder that I also looked like our dad.

"You say that but the guy sounds scary." I laughed, lifting my legs to the side of the seat.

"You'll like him. I'm sure you'll be able to control yourself more with his help. Dark powers are harder to control and I can't help you with that." I knew inside it bothered him that he couldn't train me in me with my powers.

With him having taking after our mom who was a light caster, he had it the easy way out.

He was lucky enough to not have our dad'a doings impact him.

"Hopefully. It gives me headaches sometimes from how overwhelming everything is." I rubbed my temples while speaking.

"You're basically a magnet that repels against itself. It's bound to happen." He shrugged, turning into the hotel parking.

I took off my seatbelt and climbed out of the car stretching my limbs out.

Tired, that's how I felt right now and it was only the afternoon.

"Leave your things here. The agency is down the street so we'll walk and then walk back here when we're not." Senya directed.

"Alright. I'm taking my coffee." I reached back into the car grabbing the cup and skipping to him as he walked off.

(Skip the walk)

"We're here." Senya announced looking up at the building.

"Really? I couldn't tell?" I mocked sarcastically at the sign that read 'Karasu Agency'.

It was different than I expected. Smaller for that matter. Made sense though since people don't trust casters as much as pro heroes.

The building had to only be two stories.

As we walked in, I recognized the same Victorian style decor that our mom had bits of in the house. It must be some kind of caster thing.

I walked to the couch that was near the window and sat down drinking the left overs of my coffee.

"I let them know that we're here." Senya said walking toward me. He took in front of me with his arms crossed.

"Alrighty." I sighed, continuing to finish my drink. My straw hit the bottom of the cup making a loud sound since there was no more liquid.

"Y/N, stop doing that." Senya scolded.

I looked up at him doing it again but louder.

"Y/N," He warned, getting upset with me.

I did it again until he took my cup leaving just the straw in my mouth. I took it out and frowned. "There was still some left."

"You two are the same as I remember."

Senya turned around allowing me to see who spoke. Exactly how I imagined him and how Senya described him.

Nervousness ran through my system.

My hands grew sweaty, breathing became more heavy.

Senya's hand appeared in front of my face as he helped me stand up. He looked down at me knowing this was making me feel uncomfortable.

"It's nice to see you again, Karasu." My brother greeted as we walked toward him.

"Same to you, Senya." He smiled before turning to me. "Y/N, nice to see you after many years."

"Yeah, I could say the same." I mumbled, bowing my head slightly.

"Let's get straight to it. Follow me." He directed walking to the stairs.

I hated stairs even though we had them in our own house. Practically had to crawl up them.

"Senya as a third year I know you have almost full control over your abilities. I don't doubt that. As for Y/N, I know your mother as tried and failed." Karasu explained, looking at us from over his shoulder.

"Uh— yeah, Sen and my mom are light casters so they can't help me which the dark part of my powers and controlling the balance." I stammered off.

We walked into what I was guessing his office.

There were bookshelves, family photos, and many windows. I found myself looking at the larger photo with my dad in it.

"You like reading still?" Karasu wondered, walking up to a bookcase.

"Psh, does she." Senya scoffed. I hit his arm and glared at him.

"Yeah, I do." I answered for myself.

He pulled out three books before turning around and walking back to me.

"Read these three. They're books specifically made for casters. Normal people cannot touch or light casters." He explained as he placed them on the table where a sofa was.

"What are they about?" I thought walking over to them and opening one.

"You're a catalyst, natural with bineutral abilities. Each one goes into detail about what that means and how to go about using your powers to fit you." He walked over to his desk and sat down.

The pages were older than all of us, that was for sure.

Before I could turn a page myself, they fanned out stopping on a new chapter themselves.

"Don't worry, they do that." Karasu chuckled after seeing my panicked face. "Finish those by the end of the day. Senya and I will return by then." He concluded before walking out with my brother and leaving me there alone.

Once I heard their footsteps become distant, I got up and walked to the frame that I felt was staring at me.

I'd never seen my dad genuinely smile before.

He must have been at least 20 in the photo. Before he craved only power and lost all of his humanity in him. I stared directly at it feeling my stomach curl.

I felt nothing toward him which terrified me.

I tried to convince myself that I hated him, which was true, but a small part of me hoped there was still good in him. I wanted to love him but couldn't.

There was too much he had done to be reversed.

Thinking that was enough wasting time, I turned back around to the book. Placing it on my lap, I began to read.

Catalyst:  
a term for a Caster who was once a Natural, but Turned Dark. It's unknown whether they have the same powers and potential a Natural does. During their first few months as a Dark Caster, they will experience an uncontrollable draw to fire.

Explains a lot now reading about it. I would beg my mom to start a campfire in the backyard because I thought it was pretty to watch.

Something about the color and the way a flame moved attracted me to it and still does occasionally.

Powers:  
Elemental Manipulation- They are easily able to control the elements and the weather without hesitation. Their "go-to" element and weapon of choice is fire. They can start fires by accident called "The Wake of Fire" during the first few months as a Dark Caster.  
Time control- They are able to control and freeze time, but it's very rare if they can.  
Reality Warping- They are able to manipulate reality with ease.  
Kelting- They are able to speak non-verbally with other Casters that possess the same ability. Kelting is extremely rare. Most Casters aren't seen to do it, only very powerful casters

Fire was never my forte to use which would be the light side in me. Although I found it beautiful, I found it dangerous to use carelessly.

My dad used it on me as torture.

The one that caught my eye was Kelting. In the past, my dad had done it with me when my mom was around. It was as if his thoughts became apparent into my own.

I've always tried with my mom or Senya but it would never work. Most likely why the book said it was extremely rare.

Picking up the next book, I lowered myself to the ground and onto my stomach.

Natural:  
a term for a Caster who has magnified or superior powers compared to regular Casters. They are able to do many things, but in the grand scheme of it all, no one knows exactly what their powers fully are nor the extent of them. A Natural can control the elements and the weather. Not much is said as to which of the two is stronger, but in the Caster world, a Natural is considered the strongest of all of the Casters; virtually omnipotent.

All these terms were beginning to give me headache. It made no sense to me how I was both a catalyst and natural when these books made it seem like a caster could only be one type.

Their abilities were the exact same with the weather and elements being a Natural's go-to.

Now for the part I wanted to avoid the most: the types of casters.

Types:   
Dark- a term for Casters who turned Dark and use their powers for evil. Cataclysts, Sirens, and Evos are examples of Dark Casters.  
Appearance- Dark Casters have golden cat-like eyes that glow all the time. Their skin is ice cold to the touch.

Ren would always try to warm me up but he never understood me when I told him it wasn't possible. Summer was not my thing at all.

Light- a term for Casters who are Claimed for the Light and use their power for good.  
Appearance- Light Casters get fluorescent, glowing green eyes that change shade depending on the Caster's mood. Skin feel warm to the touch as if the sun were a constant follow to them.

My eyes one of my biggest insecurities even if they didn't glow the way the book states.

I was able to control it enough to keep my natural eye color. As for my brother, his eyes had the green tint to them that I found to be truly beautiful.

His skin was as pale as mine yet was always warm. He and I were the complete opposite yet visually looked the same.

I slammed the last book closed, groaning as I dropped my head to the ground.

"We're back!" Senya sang walking back in with two bags of food.

"Hey," I breathed, throwing my arm into the air to signal where I was. I could hear the sound of the bags crinkling as he put them down.

French fries.

"Did you read them all, Y/N?" Karasu asked as he looked down at my body sprawled out on the ground.

I pulled myself up, reaching into the bag and sitting back on the sofa instead of the floor.

Popping a fries into my mouth, I nodded. "Yeah, a lot of information."

"Do you understand your powers better?" Senya asked, sitting next to me.

"I can say I understand what they could do but I feel like there's questions I have." I directed my statement more toward my uncle.

"Like what? Maybe I could answer." He replied, sitting in the one seater across us.

"Reality warping." I began, eating another fry. "I've done it before, you know on small thing, but the book talked about changing entire rooms, making people hear things that weren't there, and even changing memories."

There was a sudden shift of discomfort in my brother. More on edge, careful of his actions and words.

"Yes, there has been known use of it in that way. In what ways have you used it?" He curiously asked. He looked at my brother giving him a look that I didn't dismiss so easily.

"Turned a piece of ice into a hammer, changed my pencil into mascara... the usual?" I trailed off laughing slightly.

"So you've never used it on people?" Karasu questioned almost in confirmation.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked between him and my brother. There was something they knew that I didn't.

"No? Why are you guys doing that?" I was beginning to become defensive.

"No reason." Senya shrugged pretending to return normal. He knew I could sense his emotions.

A trait I learned from our dad.

"I think we're done for the day. Tomorrow bring your costumes and you two will fight against me." Karasu instructed standing up to walk us out.

"Two against one?" I wondered out loud.

"Yeah, lemme tell you uncle, she's small but packs a punch." Senya laughed, putting his arm on my head.

I rolled my eyes, moving his arm off my head.

He had gotten our dad's genes of being freakishly 185 centimeters tall while I got stuck being only 161 centimeters.

"I'll take note of that. See you both tomorrow at 7 am." He waved as we walked out.

The sun was falling slowly, glowing it's beautiful vibrant colors.

Oh to be admired as much the sun had been from thousands of people.

"See that wasn't bad~" Senya smiled, putting his arm around me.

Side-eyeing him, I let out a deep breath. "Yeah I guess you're right."

"Like I've said many times, I'm always right." He insisted being full of himself.

"I said I guess, don't take it to your head." I laughed, shaking my head. I felt my stomach growl a bit as we walked. "Could we get room service? Those fries weren't enough."

"Okay, order me something too. I'm gonna shower once we get in." He said as we approached his car.

Grabbing our things, we made our way inside the hotel to check in. Our room was on the 4th floor which made me tired just thinking about it.

Luckily there was an elevator that I gladly took.

Getting settled in, Senya hopped in the shower while I looked at the menu. Deciding on sushi for the both of us I ordered and sat on the bed to while I waited.

Whoever was next to us was blasting music louder than they should have been.

It was topping off the headache that had already been pounding my brain in an excruciating way.

"Who the hell is having a party in a hotel room?" Senya fumed, shaking the towel against his wet hair.

"I dunno, I don't have X-Ray vision." I shrugged going back to my book.

"Could you go next door and tell them to lower it?" He wondered as he brushed his hair out in the bathroom.

I dropped my book to my lap and groaned. "Why me?" I complained.

"Because I have to pay for the food with my card when it comes and you're doing nothing. Just go." He snapped, waving his comb toward the door.

I grabbed a blanket wrapping it around my shoulders since it was cold and my dinosaur pajamas were not doing me justice.

"Making me go myself. What a brother." I grumbled stomping outside. "Better give me extra sushi."

I opened the door and walked a few meters to where our neighbors door was.

I let out a heavy sigh before lifting my hand to their door and pounding it loud enough for them to hear through the obnoxiously loud music.

I turned around and look at the other doors around it as I waited for it to open. I heard the open swoosh signaling it was open.

"Hi, sorry could you maybe—" I turned around and froze. I stared at him before slapping my hand against my forehead.

Out of all people it could have been.

"Bakugou, what the fuck are you doing here." I whined, hugging the blanket tighter.

I wasn't surprised for some reason yet something told me it wasn't going to be any normal person.

"I could ask you the same thing, damn witch." He snapped. He looked down at my pajamas pants and smirked. "Dinosaurs."

"I'm not doing this. Night." I pushed him into his own room and shut the door walking back into my own.

I shut the door and turned to face my brother who was stuff his face with sushi.

He froze staring at my angered eyes that tinted different colors of gold and green.

It was the mix of being tired, annoyed, and hungry.

"Uh- did you say hi to Bakugou for me?" He laughed nervously.

I walked up to him snatching the chopsticks and plate of food before walking back to my bed.

"You lost your sushi rights."


	15. (14) bruises

"Answer this question for me, Y/N..."

Senya and I were at Karasu's agency again for what would be our first official day of the internship.

"Uh-huh?" I wondered as I played with the straps on my torso from my costume.

It had been my first time wearing it and boy did I love it.

When first looking at it, I thought it might have been a bit too tight and difficult to move in but it wasn't thankfully. The colors compliment each other well and overall it was made beautifully.

I would have to thank Bakugou later for drawing it and recommending a costume designer.

That asshole.

"Have you ever tried to use flames? You're fully capable of doing so." He noted as we walked into the empty room.

"Uh no, I haven't. I barely use any of the actual abilities unless it's just the black matter stuff." I admitted. My hands up and down my arms in nerves.

For supposedly being a powerful caster, I was a wimp of showing it.

"We'll change that. How about you Senya? How much of the elementals around you do you use?"

"All of it. I always try to get Y/N to use them but she insists on using the basics. The sports festival was the first time I'd ever seen her actually use effort." Senya laughed learning a shove from me.

"I just don't find a need to," I answered honestly.

Never had I felt an enormous amount of need to win or come out on top in a situation.

Maybe because deep inside I just didn't even have the motivation to get out of bed at times.

"I respect that. Just know they may be help in a dire situation." Karasu's walking came to a stop. "I don't have much care for this room— it's a spare. You two will fight me in here."

"But there is barely anything to work with in here," Senya argued as he noticed the lack of elements and weather that was usable for him.

"When in battle, you never know where you will be. Perhaps in a cave, maybe in the snow, what if it's a robbery?" Karasu tested, giving us the many examples.

"We need to be ready for any situation." I nodded understanding the point.

Regret went through my system. Not bad regret. Regret that I judged our uncle based on bad experiences from my own dad, his brother.

"Exactly. Let's begin." Taking no time sent a gust of air towards us making us stumble back.

Working with my brother was going to be difficult since he and I always practiced against each other. Above the many cons, light and dark casters were not made to work with each other.

Since being a combination of both, it was my job to find the balance meant for both of us.

"Sen, he just gave us free wind, use it!" I directed rushing him.

"What do you think I'm doing?!" He snarled. Throwing his hand forward, the wind swirled around and back at Karasu.

"Ugh!" My leg angled up in an attempt to hit the back of his head; a weak spot for any person.

Before my foot even came centimeters to it, his hand grasps it, holding it tightly with a squeeze.

He turned looking down at me.

"You're a physical fighter. Kickboxing?" One singular eyebrow raised as he thought.

"6 years."

"Never answer your opponent's questions." His opposite fist connected with my body colliding with one breath-taking punch. "It's an attempt to distract you."

I fell to the ground, clenching the cloth around my diaphragm. My lungs spasmed sporadically making it difficult to breathe. My fist slammed into the ground.

Get up.

You're not weak.

You idiot— get up!

Looking up from the ground, Senya was against a wall holding his nose. His eyes watered unintentionally as his body reacted to getting hit.

Karasu's back was toward me so I took my chance.

My hands pushed off the ground, guiding me forward.

When I was a few meters away I lowered my fingertips to the ground and threw them up.

Black matter slid across the ground, traveling rapidly toward its destination.

As it swirled up his body, he stiffened unable to move.

"You got me. Smart move." He complimented. I smiled letting my guard down. "But it wasn't good enough."

His fingers curled around the black, shattering like glass. The sound of it colliding with the ground fell with my smile.

Shatter.

My brother tried to take another hit but it was no use.

Karasu threw his arms out, shaking the floors with earthquake-like waves.

Our bodies jolted, smashing against the corresponding walls behind us.

A sharp ringing ran through my ears.   
White spots showed up in my darken vision.   
Liquid dripped from my nose like water from a faucet.   
Lungs felt as if there were bruises covering each inch of them.

"You two did well." Karasu congratulated pitifully. "You're done for the day. Get yourselves cleaned up and ice your wounds. Be ready for tomorrow."

My eyes were closed but the sound of his shoes clicking vibrated in my head with each step he took out of the room.

What the fuck did we just get ourselves into?

—-

"How are you even breathing after that?" I groaned holding the ice pack to my body.

There were obvious bruises under my costume. I had never seen such an ugly yellow purple splosh on my skin before.

"I'm not, I'm pretty sure my nose is broken or sprained." Senya laughed pointing to the two napkins sticking out of his nostrils.

"That's a look. You should keep it." I joked making myself laugh then flinch in pain.

We strolled down the sidewalk as cars drove by rapidly. It was silent but a comfortable silence.

"How are you feeling?" Senya asked abruptly, out of worry.

"Fine is an understatement, even for the both of us." My shoes kicked the pebbles on the ground as we strolled, distracting myself from the soreness.

"No— that's not what I meant." He stopped walking making me pause and turn around to look at him. His eyes stood adverted to the ground deep in thought. "You stopped for a second mid-fight."

I hadn't thought he saw that.

Nor did I want to talk about what he saw.

"A moment of weakness. That's all." I insisted. He looked up at me, his face stiff with seriousness. 

"That's not what it was." He shook his head, pulling the napkins out his nose. "Stop doing that to yourself."

"Stop doing what—"

"Stop acting like what happened to you doesn't exist. You constantly make jokes about it but moments like what happened earlier tell me otherwise. You yell at yourself for the things you can't achieve and we both know it's a habit you learned through dad." He rushed out, throwing his hands around as he spoke.

Knew the ins and outs of how I felt, when, and why. It was something he learned after taking the lead in being an important figure in my life.

Did I like that?

No. Maybe sometimes.

Because at times I felt like he was trying to fix something that couldn't be fixed. Too late to be fixed.

"Joking about it is all I know..." I trailed off, curling my fingers into my palms. "I don't act like it doesn't exist, I chose to ignore it. And yeah, maybe some habits I have are because of him. But they work, right?" I shrugged not knowing what else to say.

"You're the only one who thinks that. It's messing with your growth. What you did fighting against Karasu was amazing but you let one mess up ruin the entire thing." He sighed shaking his head with annoyance.

"Because I know I could do better." It was true. I knew I could because I was capable of it. "Dad knew it too. That's why he treated me the way he did."

"He didn't love you!"

His face showed regret. It was insensitive what he said. But he thought that maybe somehow, it would allow me to grow.

"He didn't love you and he never will. Even after years of being stuck in a psych ward, you're still stupid enough to believe that." He continued never leaving eye contact with me.

I nodded my head, chewing on my tongue holding back my tears.

Don't cry.

"See, you're doing it again." He frustratedly pointed out.

"What do you want me to do!? Huh?!" I stormed toward him, not holding back my emotions. "You're over here pointing out each and every one of my imperfections for what? Is this what you want?!" I pointed to my eyes that glowed the opposite colors of gold and green.

I always hid them. And the real reason was because I was ashamed.

"Where's your oh so great solution, hmm? Tell me because obviously, I haven't found one." I exploded. My eyes burned into his green ones, watering at the sight.

Being both light and dark was a curse. It felt like one.

Never truly belonging in one or the other. Never being fully accepted by other casters because I was tainted with the darkness.

That's just how it worked.

Once your son or daughter was claimed for the darkness, they were no longer your child. They were thrown out, disowned.

Exactly what happened with my dad and his family.

The only reason it hadn't happened with me was because there were no other combination casters. There hadn't been in years. So one knew what to do with me when it happened.

"I don't have one," Senya whispered. He was in pain. He fought a battle in his own head of so badly wanting to have me find a place where I fit because he got so lucky finding his own.

But he couldn't do it.

It frustrated him.

"And that's okay. No one asked you to try to save me." I whispered back, whipping the stray tear that ran down his face. He was always the emotional one out of the two of us.

I sighed, running my hands through my hair. I wish I was able to avoid this conversation altogether.

"Can we go to the room now? People are staring." I mumbled, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the hotel.

—-

Knock Knock

"I'm coming in." I walked through the door ignoring the fact that he hadn't responded.

"I didn't give you a fucking answer," Bakugou argued. He shut the door behind me and follow me inside.

"It's not like you argued against it either." I pointed out as I flopped onto his bed.

"Why are you here?" He questioned, frustratedly.

"I dunno I remembered you were here so I came to bother." I was only being honest since he was asking. I was also curious to see how he had been doing.

"Where's your damn brother?" He wondered as he closed the door.

"He and I are weird terms right now," I explained without giving too much detail. "You never told me why you're in the same hotel as us." I brought up, sitting up against the headboard.

"The internship. Don't get any weird ideas in that empty head of yours." He scoffed, sitting on the couch in front of his bed.

"Who you interning with?" From the last I remembered, he didn't tell me his final decision.

"Best Jeanist."

I left out a small laugh, mentally regretting it after. "How's that going?" Knowing Bakugou, he was most likely giving him some form of sass.

"Damn guy. He gave me some stupid lecture about reforming me. Already regretting this entire week, he's full of shit." He complained, rolling his eyes in the end. "How about you? You look like shit."

"Thanks, I feel like it too." I started, laying on my back at the end of the bed. It was the only way I could lay without it hurting. "Senya and I had fight against our Uncle and this dude swept the floor with us." I rubbed the bruise on my stomach as I spoke.

"I'd rather take that then some stuck up Pro talking crap. How bad was it?" He whined before asking. I enjoyed these small conversations we had.

"Bad. Got punched in the rib, nose was bleeding, and I swear I had super hearing." I laughed, thinking about how much of a rag doll I probably looked.

"Your brother?" He wondered.

"Not as bad I think. Few jabs to head- mostly his nose. The nerve that guy has sometimes." I grumbled, covering my face with my hands.

"Why you say that?"

"He had the audacity to point out everything wrong with me because of something I did. I just hate how somethings he tries to make me realize things in the worst ways." I ranted, thinking about the argument.

"Well, was he right?" Bakugou questioned, looking at me. His face was upside down from where I laid. His eyes caught my attention right away.

Rubies.

"I don't wanna answer that." I retorted, looking away.

"You can't always run away from your damn problems." He argued against my statement.

"Yes, I can," I answered too quickly. "It's not even that I am- I just..."

"You're running away from the problem." He finished off.

"Don't act you don't do the same," I remarked. "All of us do it. I think I just may do it too often."

"You're kidding me, right? You sound stupid as fuck for saying that." He insulted shaking his head.

Every did everyone think they had an input in my life? I don't get it.

Ding-ding

New Message  
Ren  
Hey, how's the internship?  
Read 7:38 pm

"Ugh, here you answer." I threw my phone at Bakugou giving him full power to do anything. I didn't care at this point.

"This your boyfriend?" He asked, pointing to the small circle showing his picture.

"Mhm," I nodded, carefully turning on my stomach.

"Fucking pasty face, how does he look like a damn ghost." He mocked, zooming in on the photo.

"His quirk. It's called phantom, basically, he can mess with souls dead and alive and use them to his advantage." I explained playing with the pillow next to me. "Gives him the white hair and eyes."

"Hey, look up." He called. I looked up to see him taking a photo. I lifted my hand up mid photo as Bakugou made a middle finger.

"I should go see him." I thought aloud.

"Don't care. Do whatever you want." He bleated, throwing me back my phone.

"I don't get you. Sometimes you're kinda decent to me and then you're an ass." I hissed, grabbing my phone and blanket. "See you tomorrow."

I closed the door behind me and walked back into my room straight into bed.

I was tired of today.


	16. (15) lust

(I recommend the Spotify playlist for this hehe)

"Let's talk about yesterday's fight." Karasu began. He was either going to compliments or bash us with all the things that needed to be improved. "Senya, you need to make your first move quicker. You hesitated and watched for quite too long."

My eyes gazed over to him, creating slight eye contact before looking back down at my lap. It was best if I said nothing.

But if he pointed my problem, avoidance. His was hesitation.

"Yes, I did. I'll work on that." He nodding, knowing it wasn't the first time he had heard that comment. If my thing was avoidance, then his was definitely hesitation.

"You and I will talk separately." Karasu directed toward me. "Senya take this day to do your own research in my office. We will be back soon."

I stood up from the chair walking to Karasu at the door. He guided me outside where it was approaching the later afternoon.

People made their way home by shoving through crowds, speeding by in their cars while students grouped up after school talking about who knows what. Observation was a skill I picked up on after keeping to myself for so long.

Karasu walked next to me, his hands in the deep pockets of his trenchcoat. "You're a great fighter much like your father, although he put his skills to the worse as you know."

"I'm very aware." I acknowledged quietly. My hands held onto their opposite elbows keeping them close to my body.

"What goes through your mind during a fight against another opponent?" He questioned, looking down at me from his shoulder.

Letting that question stink in, I pondered what my answer could possibly be. I didn't want to dwell too much on what it could be but I didn't want to under answer the question in a way that I couldn't get any feedback with.

"My next move and possibly the outcome of it," I answered after a few seconds. I had the power to accidentally kill something along with the many other people whose quirk had the same risk. Thinking ahead was strugglesome but necessary most of the time.

"What if you guess wrong?" He continued, throwing a possible outcome.

My eyebrows raised slightly, not expecting a question like that. "Then I'm fucked." I laughed not knowing what else to say.

Karasu chuckled himself enjoying the fact that I was openly honest. "I'm not asking you to predict the future. Don't because you never know what possible changes could happen." He advised.

"This doesn't feel like we're talking about just using my powers anymore." I doubted. Who knows, maybe he was trying to give some real advice. Maybe Senya told him about our argument and the habits I had. Either way, I still appreciated it.

"Take it how you'd like." He responded optimistically. "You mentioned before that you haven't used Reality Warping that often?"

"I haven't," I confirmed. We walked past a park, taking a turn directly into it. They made slightly uncomfortable yet it was bare-able.

"Why's that? Is that because you don't understand its full capabilities?" He hypothesized, attempting to figure out the reason.

As we sat down on a picnic bench, I nodded. "Yeah, honestly. I know I can change objects into anything I'd like except living beings. But that's about it."

It was such a broad idea. There was much to it that I had little to zero grasp of.

"Did you know that it could be used on vast areas?" He quizzed, eyebrows scrunching in the center of his face.

"You mean like, an entire environment?" I thought. He nodded answering my questions. "I think I read something about that but I'm honestly not too sure."

"Using that power, you are able to move yourself, and another person if you build up that power, to an entirely new area. That could be the ocean, your house, the States, anywhere. Of course, that would mean using a large amount of power that you have not obtained." He explained going into a deep detail.

"I knew there were casters able to do that but it's just insane. Moving someone to an ocean?" I spat out in total amazement.

"It's possible." He nodded his head slowly agreeing with my shocked expression.

"How do you build up your abilities to have the capacity to do that? Pushing myself already leaves me almost empty." I was curious. Having an amount of power that greatly seemed so out of reach and plain insane.

"Through constant practice. Not overworking like I feel you and your brother may do but simple practices like moving objects across a room or yourself if you're able to achieve that right now." He shared, giving tips of what he had done himself.

"I guess I have new things to work on." I huffed, slouching down on the table. I looked around for a moment at the kids running up the jungle gym, sliding down the slides with smiles.

All I could think about was that day.

"You can also use it on people."

I jerked my head toward him quickly. "On people?"

"Yes but it's very dangerous if you use when you're unstable." He warned, his voice becoming more stern. "When Casters were first being exposed, powerful casters, like yourself, would help with erasing the memory of normal people finding out."

"Would they erase that singular memory or their entire memory of events with the caster?" I interrogated, digging deeper into the idea. Something about it struck interest so deeply in me.

"Just of the memory of them finding out. But if you use it when your emotions are unstable you could accidentally erase more than wanted." He informed. For some reason, I felt his words were based off of experience. It wasn't in my business to ask so I didn't.

"Are you able to see a person's memories while doing it?" I asked, propping my chin on my palm. "Wait- can I see them in general?"

"I don't possess the ability so I'm not sure." He shrugged. My eyes lit up along with the smile that drew itself on my face.

"Lemme try." I insisted, wiggling my eyebrows with too much joy. I think he knew himself that there was no way out of this.

"Okay, but be careful." He sighed, sitting up more straight.

I stood up excitedly and shimmied out of the bench seat, almost getting my costume stuck against its rough texture. I mom-walked over to him and place my hands on his head.

"Focus. Allow yourself to blur out your surroundings and focus only on the task at hand." He instructed carefully.

I shut my eyes seeing only darkness (no shit). Spots of light flashes in out from the moment that stood in front of me. The sounds of laughs and muffled talking soon filed out into a single buzz of nothingness.

His memories flowed around like bubbles in the wind. Figments of his childhood up to our current situation showed clear in my mind.

It astonished me how vivid and real they had come to me as if they were my own.

"You got coffee this morning and didn't bring us any?" I jeered, removing my hands from his head and glaring at him.

"Tomorrow." He promised, standing up. "Want to try warping us back to the office?"

"Okay, but it's not my fault if we leave a limb behind or something." I grabbed his arm and closed my eyes, sending us back roughly and inelegantly.

\---

Karasu let us go after talking to us for an hour after I brought him and I back.

I took a shower putting on some random jeans and a hoodie. Making sure I grabbed my phone I stuffed it in my pocket along with my wallet and keys.

"Where are you going?" Senya asked from where he laid in his bed. He and I were talking normally again almost as if our argument had never occurred.

"Ren's. I should be back in two hours or so. Maybe shorter depending how things go." I rolled my eyes to myself already knowing it wasn't going to go well.

"You're finally going to break up with him?" Senya wondering, surprisingly shocked.

"I'm going to suspect him of cheating which will eventually lead to an argument that breaks us up." I ran down the typical relationship break us. "So yeah." I shrugged.

"I could give you a ride if you want." He offered, getting off the bed.

"You can go just take me over there? You can come back after and I'll take the train or something." I suggested, waiting as he grabbed a sweater.

"Just let me know. Down with whatever." He shrugged, stuffing his car keys into his pajama pants.

"Okay. Let's go?" I gestured, heading toward the door.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

\---

"Call me if anything happens?" Senya made me swear before leaving the car.

"Yeah, for sure." I smiled, nodding in confirmation. "Okay, wish me luck. Love you." I got out of the car, shutting the door.

"Love you too." He waved, before driving off and leaving me alone in front of Ren's place.

I could my breath become thinner and my stomach drop to my toes. It almost physically hurt to breathe from how nervous I was becoming yet I pushed myself to move forward.

Tapping my foot on the ground, I pulled out my keys that had his house spare on it. My fingers fiddled with them, shoving them softly into the keyhole so he wouldn't hear me.

I just had a bad feeling about this already.

Once opening the door, I quietly took off my shoes and left my keys in my shoes.

'It's fine. Everything is fine. You're fine calm your ass down' I tried to remind myself. Overthinking would only lead to negative outcomes.

I hid behind the kitchen wall that stood between the two rooms before immediately recognizing the voices and giggles.

"Hey, why wasn't I invited?" I sassed, walking out from behind the wall.

It was exactly as I thought it would be. She was curled up against him with his arm around her shoulders.

There was no other was to interpret it.

They pushed each other off of one another separating quickly. It was too late to try to pretend.

The damaged had been done.

"Emi, leave now," I demanded, avoiding eye contact with her. To even think I called her a friend for a second.

Walking over to where she previously sat, I took the spot. Looking down at my lap, I gave myself a few moments to breath and compose.

My heart felt like it was sputtering out of control and my hands insisted on moving like I was freezing despite the overheating that was happening.

"Well, tell me. What's your excuse?" I sighed, inserting my fingers into the folds of my jeans to distract myself.

"It's not what you think." He insisted, attempting to hold his own.

"Really?" I challenged. I leaned forward and wiping the shiny substance off his lip that I caught shining in the light. "Then what's this? I don't know if you remember since you know, you have to remember info for two girlfriends, but I hate lipgloss."

"Stop acting like your innocent here." He mocked, pushing my hand away.

"Acting? You're the only one here who's trying to avoid your mistake." I pointed out.

"What the fuck was that picture you sent me? You and that blonde brat in the same room. I bet you were all over him." He scoffed, trying to make a story of the photo.

"You're the brat here. And honestly, what if I was all over him? Hmm? What are you going to do about it? Cheat on me?" I mocked, raising my eyebrows.

"Real mature." He laughed, scornful.

"Unlike you, since you're acting like such a child!" I yelled becoming more frustrated. "Just admit you're cheating on me."

I didn't recognize the guy who was sitting in front of me. This wasn't the same guy who I fell for when we first started dating.

It tore me.

"Why do I need to tell you if you already know?" He wondered, giving me an answer without fully coming forth with the truth.

"Because I want to hear it coming from your mouth. Not mine." I argued, digging my fingernails into my palms. They stung the tighter I squeezed them.

He leaned forward silently looking soul deep into my eyes. "I'm cheating on you."

And that's where it hit me.

The full realization and reality of it all, tumbling down on me like an avalanche that became too heavy to hold up its own weight.

A pin needle stings danced across my bottom lash line making my version blur with the liquid that I was not going to stop from falling out.

I turned my head, no longer able to look him in the eyes the same way I had before.

"I can't believe you..." I whispered to myself. "You should have just broken up with me when you lost feelings for me." I sighed, biting my lip as the salt flavor leaked into my mouth.

"But I haven't lost my feelings for you." He admitted quietly.

"No." I scoffed, turning back to face him. "That's just you feeling guilty. Feeling bad for yourself." This was the first time he had ever seen me cry. I hated crying and never wanted anyone to ever see me do it.

It stung, gave me a headache, and made me look weak.

But this one time, I was okay with it.

I told him things I had never said out loud. Expressed my deepest and darkest thoughts that ate me up. He knew things no one but my brother had known.

It's so easy to be naive when you believe someone loves you.

"I know this is not okay but I can fix it." He tried to convince me, taking my hand that sat on my lap. "Please, I promise."

"Did you get what you wanted?" I wondered, our teary eyes and crack-hearted pain looking into each other, grasping for that last thread of hope. "Did she make you laugh the way you wanted? Give you the smile that felt like you hadn't done it ever in your life? When you kissed her, was it like a movie?"

Betrayal was a deep wound that could take out any open hearted person out in seconds.

"I stood loyal to you and you just needed someone to be at your feet so bad that you cheated." I said what my mind had been repeating to itself over and over.

"It's not that--"

"Then what is it!" I shouted. "This is the second time and you expect me just to fall in love all over again and forgive you? I may not love myself that much but I'm not going to let you step on me like I was a bug on the floor because this is all you." I shoved my finger into his chest. "You fucked up this time and last and I'm not going to be here for it."

"Y/N, calm down..." He trailed off seeing me break in front of his eyes.

"I always tried to make excuses for you every time but why am I trying to be perfect for someone who isn't even putting a single amount of effort into me." I cried cursing at myself. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

Silence. Nothing but thin quiet white noise.

Stupid.

Letting myself believe that he could change was stupid. Staying for longer than I should just to go through the same cycle.

"I'm sorry." A single tear fell down his eyes and it didn't compare to the amount that flowed out of my own.

I pulled the silver chain off my wrist, and set it down on the couch. My eyes grazed it for the last time.

The meaning that bracelet held was gone.

"I don't want an apology. I just wanted real love from someone. I thought you of all people would have understood that."

Forcing myself up, I walked out of the room leaving him there for what would be our last conversation.

I broke the promise to myself to never let myself be hurt by a guy I loved. Yet I let it happened.

I took the train back to the hotel.

I didn't want to hear the speech from my brother. The one where he would tell me boys were going to break my heart. I wasn't going to listen.

I walked through the hotel hall, blankly looking at the walls as I did.

No real thoughts could come to mind. I pushed them back to stop myself from crying anymore.

I stopped in front of my room, reaching for the knob until I stopped. My head turned to the door a few feet away.

It was 12:34 am. But I knew he had to be awake.

Shifting over, my sweater covered hand bounced on the surface of the cold wood. It only took him a few seconds to open the door.

"What the hell do you want now?" He noticed the hoodie over my head and the mascara smeared under my eyes. "Have you been crying?"

"Your hair looks stupid." I commented, walking past him and into his room. It was in some sort of dorm boy style. He shut the door, this time without argument.

"What happened? Why do you look like you walked through a damn storm?" He questioned standing in front of where I sat on the edge of his bed.

"I did it. I broke up with him."

His face raised, surprised with how quickly events had changed within the few hours I hadn't spoke to him.

"I don't know what I expect since I knew he was cheating on me but I guess I'm not as strong as I think I am." I laughed, making fun of myself.

"You're no where near emotionally strong that's for sure." He agreed walking over to the dresser in the room.

"I just feel so stupid you know? I bet you feel like that all the time though." I sighed, falling back on the bed.

"Tch, being talkative for someone who got their heartbroken." He mumbled walking back to me. He threw a pair of shorts at me and a random shirt.

I pulled them off my face and sat back up. "What's this?"

"Sleep in the bed. I'll take the couch. Your brother will question the living hell of out you if you go back now." He predicted, taking one of the blankets and pillows to the couch.

"Thanks." I sniffled, rubbing my nose with my sleeve.

"Gross, go do that shit in the bathroom." He grimaced making an ugly face at me.

I sighed and went over closing the door behind me. Changing quickly, I splashed cold water on my throbbing eyes.

My face had been stain red from the strain I had been putting on it. It was to be expected though. 

Pulling my hair into a messy bun, I walked out and put my clothes onto of them dresser.

His clothes fit me like a dress. Smelled like him too.

Caramel. Cologne. Two scent you never would think could work together but did.

"I didn't think you could look any worse." He mumbled from where he laid.

"You're so good at making me feel better." I huffed, getting into the bed.

"Hey, mopping about it won't get you no where. Be glad I'm not treating you like some kid." He mocked.

He was right.

Mopping wasn't going to get me anywhere.

"Okay, fine. Goodnight."

"Night."

I shut my eyes, laying there for a few minutes until it was completely silent.

I reflect on the day trying to point of the highlights. But Bakugou shuffling brought my attention back.

"Are you awake?" I wondered, talking up to the ceiling.

"What." He groaned obviously annoyed.

"I wanted to tell you something..." He stood quiet signaling for me to continue. "Don't take this weirdly but I swear, I see you in my dreams."

Bakugou's eyes shook open. His heart fell into his stomach repeating her words.

There was no doubt that she had just said that.

It was impossible for her to lie about it.

Trying his best to hold him secrets wasn't his thing for being too aggressively honest with people.

He wanted to break all his promises right at that moment but didn't. But he wasn't going to lie to her either. Because that meant there was hope.

"I see you in mine too."

New Message   
Katsuki  
Sen. She knows. She's remembering.   
Read 3:27 am


	17. (16) Saudade

(fast forward to end of internships)

"Thank you for everything you have done for us." Senya praised him as we said our final goodbyes to Karasu.

"You really have helped the both of us improve a lot. Seriously." I added on being as genuine as I could be. Without his help, I wouldn't have been able to understand a lot of things with being a caster.

He answered a lot of questions my dad left me with.

"Of course, seeing you two grow this past week was a rare sight. Please, feel free to visit anytime you would like." He grinned, a light shine reflecting against the sunlight.

"You should come over one day. I'm sure our mom wouldn't mind." I insisted, forcing the idea on him.

"I'll make sure it's okay with your mother first." He cautioned. "Y/N, take this with you. You will use it more than I ever will." He handed me the book I read on the first day.

The book that opened to me instead of the opposite.

"Thank you." I smiled looking down at it. "Maybe one day my collection will be as large as yours."

"We'll see about that. Now you too should go before you miss the train." He urged, giving us small shoves on the back.

"Bye!" We waved watching as his figure grew smaller and smaller with the distance created between the three of us.

In all honesty, I was going to miss him.

\---

"Ribbit. Good morning, Y/N." Tsu greeted me as I walked through the door. I waved over at her as I walked over to the group of girls.

"Morning, guys." I grinned. It was relieving to see them again after so long. "How were your guy's internships?"

"I got to help with a bank robbery." Jiro shared telling us about the experience.

"What! That's so cool!" Mina groaned squishing her face together.

"How about you, Y/N?" Ochaco mentioned shrugged to me. 

"Uh well, I ended up with a bruised stomach, and uh... I may or may not be single now." I mumbled the last part scratching the back of my neck.

"WHAT?!" They all yelled, catching the attention of our surrounding classmates.

"Shhh! Holy crap you guys are loud." I laughed covering my eyes in distress.

"What happened?! Come on spill it!" Mina urged, grabbing my arm and tugging it.

I shrugged. "There's nothing much to it. I went to his place and found him there with Emi. I talked to him and he ended confessing to it and tried to throw some bullshit at me so I left."

It had been a few days since then. I felt better about it but a piece of me still hurt since he was someone I trusted.

"I'm so sorry, Y/N." Ochaco frowned, rubbing my arm.

"That's terrible! How could he even do that to such a person?" Momo sighed, rubbing her temple.

"Don't worry! We'll find you someone better!" Mina encouraged, linking our arms together.

"Yeah, maybe..." I sighed, slouching my shoulders forward. "I'm gonna go sit down, see you guys later."

Walking over to my seat, I waved at a few people before sitting. Pulling out my journal, I wrote down some things I wanted to get down today and one of them made me uncomfortable.

"Holy crap! What the heck, Bakugou?" Sero and Kirishima yelled, crying their eyes out at his new hairstyle.

"Stop laughing! My hair's gotten used to this and I can't get it back the right way. Did you not hear me? I'll kill you both!" He fumed, clawing his hand ready to kill.

"I'd like to see ya try, pretty boy." Sero mocked through tears of laughter.

"What'd you call me?!" Bakugou screamed. His hair bounced back into his usual mess.

I sat there, chin in my palm watching it all play out. It made me smile seeing how much joy they had over his hair.

I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been crying the first night I saw it.

"Hey, there it goes!" Kirishima pointed out, bursting into more uncontrollable laughter. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit myself.

"Come on, Bakugou. They just liked your hair." I pointed out through the small laughs I was trying to hide.

"You shut up, you damn witch!" He threatened, pointing to me with his finger shaking in anger. He gave me one more small glance before looking back at the boys who were laughing at him.

He and I hadn't talked about our dreams.

If anything it made me nervous to even think about how that conversation would go. It was already weird as shit for me to tell him that I saw him there like some stalker.

Am I overthinking it?

Probably but I didn't care.

"What's the point of having a journal if you're going to stare at it the entire time?" Bakugou mocked as he walked over to his desk.

"I was going to write in it for your information." I jeered, shutting it close. It wasn't like I was going to write in it now. "I just got stuck daydreaming." I pouted, looking away.

He chuckled a bit, relaxing his seat. "Not surprised with your empty head."

"Don't act like your Mr. Perfect with your hotheadedness." I grumbled, smirking the slightest bit.

"That's where your wrong. I'm the fucking best and you know it." He mocked, leaning in toward me from where I sat.

My breath hitched.

"Tell that to anyone else and they'll argue against it." I mumbled looking away to hide the fluterness on my face.

He could so easily change my emotions.

"Change into your hero costumes. You will start with All Might today." Mr. Aizawa instructed popping into the room before walking away.

\--

"Wow, Y/N! Your costume is amazing." Ochaco complimented as she changed next to me.

"Super cute! It fits your style so much!" Mina complimented as she put on her fur cardigan.

"Thanks, Bakugou actually helped me design it since I had no clue on how I wanted it to look." I chortled, making fun of myself for having no artistic sense.

"Wait. Did you just say that Bakugou helped you?" Jiro repeated, her face full of shock.

"Yeah, why..?" I hesitated, unsure if I wanted to know her reason for being so surprised. She followed be outside where her and I went to the place we were all meeting up at.

"Nothing, I'm just surprised he has a piece of kindness in him under that attitude he has." She snickered.

I shook my head at her, jokingly. "He's nice when he wants to be and in his own way."

It was true.

Sometimes he was a complete asshole to me and I didn't understand it but there were the times he was really nice. I liked how it wasn't the same all the time.

"Speak of the devil." Jiro shoved my side nodding her head to where he stood with Kirishima. She gave me that look of 'go to him' and walked to Momo.

My palms grew a bit more sweaty then they had been before. It was almost as if I had swallowed a balloon and it was inflated in my stomach.

Our rooms were next to each other during the internship but he had yet to see me with the costume on.

Why did I care about what he thought?

"Hey, guys." I smiled, popping up next to Bakugou.

"Hey, Y/N!" Kirishima greeted with a smile. "Your costume is amazing, looks great." He gave me a thumbs up.

"Thanks. Bakugou actually help me with it." I said, finally making eye contact with the blonde. "I think it turned out really nice..." I trailed off, my voice turning into a whisper.

Looking at him was purely mesmerising. His costume complimented in ways I couldn't bring to words. All the muscle was being covered by his uniform most of the time; I never knew he was so built.

Why did he have to have a nice face?

"Tch." Bakugou looked away, a slight pink on his face. "It looks nice." He mumbled under his breath. The emotions coming from him were intense yet he somehow was able to cover them in order for me not to sense it.

"Woah, did Bakubro just give a compliment?!" Kirishima gasped in amazement.

"You're fucking hearing shit!" He yelled before walking off toward All Might who was finally arrive.

"Wait, Bakugou." I called, grabbing onto his hand.

"What?" He wondered, looking back at me. His eyes would forever be my favorite feature.

"Are you still coming today? You know, to talk about it?" I wondered. After what I said in the hotel room that night, we agreed to talk about it. It was too big to ignore.

"Yeah. Already told my old hag, now let's go." He grumbled, pulling my hand that he was holding rather tightly.

Tingles. Stupid tingles go away.

"Hope you're ready to return to our lessons. Today it's Hero Basic Training. Feels like I haven't seen you in a while." All Might greeted, introducing what we would do. "Listen carefully for what's in store. Take everything you've learned from your internships and apply it to this rescue training."

"You're about to step into Field Gamma! Inside is an area full of factories that form an intricate labyrinth, so good luck finding your way around." He chucked, jokingly. "You'll be competing in groups of five with the exclusion of 6 on one since Yuma is now here with us."

Look at me making numbers uneven.

"Each person starts from a different location on the outskirts of the model city. I'll send a distress signal, and you do what you must to rescue me. Whoever finds me first wins! But try to keep the protery damage to a bare minimum, please."

I turned my head up to the left at the guy who stood cross armed next to me. We all knew All Might had been talking about him.

"Why're you pointing at me?" He grimanced, looking away from the pro. I chewed on my lip, laughing the slightest bit. His head jerked down at me, "Stop laughing." He sighed, angrily pouting.

"Okay, okay, fine." I smiled giving in.

"All right. First group, get to your places."

I stood on the roof of part of the building, trying to figure out a plan since like always, I didn't have one.

Taking a wild guess, everyone would stay up at the top which meant if I wanted to stay hidden, staying on the ground in the shadows would work better.

Not only would the shadows allow me to blend in more with my costume, but naturally my powers would be at their highest in the dark. I would be the most flexible going that route.

My classmates were watching and I wanted to show growth. That I could be one of the top in the class.

Maybe it was being competitive but I just knew I could be the best if that's what I wanted.

Their eyes were going to be on me and I was going to show them.

Between Bakugou and I, this was closest we would get to a rematch.

"Is everyone ready? Begin!" All Might called as the distress signal went off.

Jumping off the roof I was on, I rolled out feeling the concrete sting the bottom of my boots. They clicked against the floor with each step I took forward.

Above me, I could hear my fellow classmates jump from tube to tube in haste. Searching for All Might where he stood with no clue as to where he possibly could be.

While running in between building, I opened myself up to sense their emotions more openly. There were feelings of excitement, nervousness, and deep concentration coming from each direction.

Until I felt the feeling of eagerness with slight impatientness. That's where I knew he was at.

Running to one of the latters, I climbed up and continued my search there.

From above, I was able to see Sero and a few others in the distance.

It was interesting to think about each of their reasons for wanting to win or even for wanting to be here at UA. Each one of us had our hopes and dreams whether they be realistic or unreachable. It just mattered on how much you wanted it.

And I wanted bad.

"Hey, Sero." I waved, running by him. In the distance, I could see All Mights costume shining in the light. "I know you want to win, but I can't let that happen."

"What?" He spuddered out, flying by like Spiderman. Before he could say anything else, I got gone within seconds.

Landing ungracefully on the ground in front of All Might who looked down at me shocked.

"Uh- Yuma is the winner!"

\---

"I won." I boasted, flipping my hair over my shoulder. My smirk was big and my ego was blow to its largest capacity.

"Fucking hate you." Bakugou barked, stomping next to me as we made our way to my brothers car.

"Come on, you did well too!" I complimented, raising my eyebrow optimistically. "But I just did better." I teased, sticking my tongue out mockingly.

"Are you done yet?" He glared at me crossing his arms.

"Hmm, I guess just for right now." I shrugged as we approached my brother's car.

Walking over to the driver's window, I bent down and knocked on it. Senya jumped up, cursing at me as he put the window down.

"Scared the shit out of me." He scowled.

"That's your fault for not paying attention." I retorted, standing back straight.

He and Bakugou behind me made eye contact. I hated the fact that they wouldn't tell me what was going on between them since I knew something was happening.

"Sup." My brother greeted in his typical guy language.

"Hey." Bakugou replied, stuffing his hands into his bagging pants.

Tension. So thick you were able to slice through it.

It was unsettling, mysterious and just didn't sit right with me.

"I'm taking the back seat. My feet hurt." I bubbled up, breaking the silence that sat over us. "Open the truck." I directed to Senya.

Bakugou followed me to the truck where we both put our bags. I closed it and walked the opposite direction to the back seat where I planned to lay.

"How was class for you, Sen?" I wondered, folding my blazer into a pillow.

"Alright, you know the usual." He shrugged, turning on the radio. "How about you?"

"Well since you asked." I grinned, laying back more so I was looking up directly at the car ceiling.

"For fucks sake." Bakugou mumbled, under his breath.

"We did a race in groups and I'm proud to say that I won in my group." I praised myself for my earnings.

"And why you mad about it?" Senya asked Bakugou, eyeing him from the side.

"She won't stop fucking talking about it. You won a race not the damn Olympics." He complained, looking back at my relaxed figure.

"If you were in my place, you'd be doing the same shit so shut up." I argued, rolling my eyes at him.

Senya laughed as we approached the driveway, shaking his head as if our conversation was humorous to him.

It was strange how nostalgic everything felt in that moment.

Grabbing our bags, we made our way inside the house. Mom's car wasn't home which told Senya it was pizza night for us.

"We'll be upstairs." I called out to Senya as I waved for Bakugou to follow me up.

Inside, I was dreading every moment of this.

Confortation about things that were already strange as it was just wasn't my thing. I was good at hiding my nerves and pretending that I was keeping my cool, but I wasn't.

Opening the door to my room, I walked in, leaving room for Bakugou to come in after me.

"Not bad." He shrugged putting his bag down at my desk along with his blazer.

"Thanks, I thought the same also." I joked as I put my stuff on my bed.

He walked around looking at all the things I had in my room.

There was nothing special about it.

The walls were white, my bed comforter was navy with a few light purple pillows, and the rest of the space was surrounded by book shelves and pictures frames,

"Who the hell even reads this many books?" He retorted, picking up one, fanning through the pages.

I shook my head, taking the book from his hold. "I do and you know that. You should talk Mr. Romance manga."

"Shut up." He mumbled, rolling his eyes on me.

I turned my back to put the book back and fix the others that I hadn't realized fell behind it. 

Maybe I did have too many books but most of them had something special about it that I just couldn't get over.

"This one looks like you found it on the street."

"Which one?" I questioned. I got up from when I was bent down to see him reaching for the book Karasu gave me. I was going the shrug it off until I remembered what he said.

"Normal people cannot touch or light casters."

My stomach dropped as the impending feeling of doom rained through my system.

"Wait, don't touch that!" I warned, speeding toward him.

But I was too late.

"OW! What the fuck!" He screamed, retracting his hand back after the book shocked him. He looked down at his hand that was red and pulsing.

"I am so sorry, I shouldn't have left it there." I grabbed the book and threw it under my bed before grabbing his arm carefully and sitting him on my bed.

'You fucking idiot!' I cursed to myself.

I ran downstairs to grab ice and ran back up the stairs. In my room I grabbed the towel and put it over my shoulder to use after.

"Does it hurt?" I wondered, taking his hand in my hold and placing the ice on it. Guilt brought down my spirits.

"No shit, that damn book shocked me." He scoffed, relaxing his hand in mine.

"It's a caster book. It may seem stupid but the book won't let anyone touch it accept Dark Casters and I knew that but it didn't occur to me in the moment until you touched it and now we're here." I explained, rambling a bit since I had been under stress.

"Where'd ya get it?" He asked, looking down at his hand that sat on my lap with ice on it. I was carefully patting the ice so it couldn't freeze him all at once.

"My uncle during the internships. He made me read it to better understand some information about my powers and the last day he gave it to me." I explained.

My fingers sat under his laced ever so slightly.

They were warm, sweet smelling, rough in texture yet soft like a blanket. His touch so easily brought down my nerves even if that wasn't his intention.

We stood quiet with only the sound of the ice bag crinckling as I moved it.

He slouched, watching my every move in case he were to miss something I did.

Whether it was a reflex or not, his hand reached up tucking a piece of hair behind my ear that had fell in front of my face.

"You're not an idiot by the way. You're too hard on yourself." He mumbled, more calmer than he was during the day.

I looked up freezing as we made eye contact.

It couldn't be.

"How did you know I said that? I said it in my head."


	18. (17) Forelsket

"How did you know I said that," I questioned insistingly.

"Cause you said it out loud— what the hell do you want me to say?" He argued, move on edge than he had been before.

"No, that's a fat lie and I won't accept fat lies." I grabbed the towel off my shoulder drying it off before balling it in my hands and changing it to a bandage.

I wrapped it around his hand and stood up.

"I'm gonna think something and you say what," I instructed, crossing my arms.

"I'm not a mind reader, dumbass." He grumbled, copying my stance.

"Shut up and just do it." I sighed. I wanted to think about something that was super specific or at least something I wouldn't just say randomly out loud.

'Nostrils work one at a time.' I thought to myself while sustaining a strong eye contact with him.

His face stood static before contorting into a strong look of confusion.

"Out of all the thing you could've thought about, you thought about fucking nostrils?" He repeated, questioning the reasoning behind my thinking.

"I learned it in a book of fun facts— not the point!" I yelled, throwing my hands up. "You can hear my thoughts, can I hear yours?"

"I dunno, try it." He shrugged.

I moved back to the bed and sat down next to him. He stared down at the floor before smirking slightly.

"Did you just say... that I smell like coconut?" I repeated, slowly, not fully understanding if I heard correctly.

His face blanked only showing terror. "Shit."

"There's this ability in Casting called 'Kelting' which is basically mental communication. I think that's what we're doing." I informed. Biting my finger, I attempted to think of how this could have been possible.

It shouldn't have been.

"Why are you saying it like that?" He asked, interested in why I still sounded anxious.

"It's an ability that is only stupid powerful casters can do within casters and obviously, you're not a caster." I laughed trying to wrap my mind around the idea.

"No shit I'm not, why can I do it?" He questioned leaning back on my pillows.

"I don't know? It's like those dreams too, we need to talk about those." I brought up, sighing frustratedly as my fingers ran through my hair.

This entire situation was ridiculous and cliche.

"What do you see in them?" He questioned, voice softer, more interested.

"Actually." I got up and walked to my bag pulling out my journal. "I've been writing about it for the last two years?" I handed the book to him as I spoke. "When I started to notice I was having the same dream every night, I started writing it down."

"Yeah... I've been having them around the same time." He nodded, flipping through the pages.

"Do have a clue as to why they're happening?" I wondered, laying back on the bed. I stared up at the ceiling blankly.

"If I did, we wouldn't be talking about this, idiot." He bleated, closing the book and putting it on my nightstand.

I turned my head to him, grabbing a pillow to move it out of the way. "You just told me not to call myself an idiot and now you're calling me one."

"Cause when I do it, it's funny and you do it to put yourself down." He smirked looking down at me.

Flustered once more, I threw the pillow at him and looked away. "You're far from funny."

My door burst open making the both of us jump.

"Food's here. Come grab some." Senya poked his head from the side with a slice of pizza in his hand. He walked away after, going back down the stairs.

"I appreciate you scaring the shit out of me," I grumbled, rolling my eyes as I got up.

"Payback!"

—

"Have you ever tried putting eyeliner under your mask when you wear your hero costume?" I wondered, putting my empty plate down on my desk. (an: I'm totally convinced he would or does)

Bakugou sat on my bed as the tv played in front of us.

"The hell? I don't wear makeup." He scoffed throwing his own plate to the side.

"You should try it, seriously. If you're going for that scary bitch vibe then I think it would fit." I shrugged still invested in my idea.

"Sounds stupid." He grimaced, looking at me with uncertainty.

"Lemme try and if you hate it then don't do it. It's as simple as that." I shrugged putting my hands on my lap.

"Fine, whatever." He slouched, looking back at the anime he and I had been watching.

I got up walking into my bathroom where I kept my makeup bag.

Had I suggested it purely off of the thought of seeing him with eyeliner?

Of course.

But there was also the fact I did think it would fit his costume well. For the chaotic persona he withheld with people 90% of the time, I thought it would add to the effect.

"Okay, this is a pencil eyeliner." I introduced as I walked over. On my way, I grabbed my mirror and handed it to him. "You sit and try to watch what I do in case you wanna try yourself."

"Just get this over with." He sighed closing his eyes.

"You're such a child." I sighed, putting my hand under his chin and lifting it up.

"Who are you calling a child, you midget?!" He pushed my hand away, holding it, as he glared into me.

"You, now stay still." I jerk my hand away scooting closer to his face.

He looked down as the side of my hand made contact with his cheekbones. Using his arms out on each side of his body, he held himself up resting comfortably.

My eyebrows met together and eyes shrunk smaller as my concentration stood high.

My arm was wrapped around his shoulder, hand in hair to keep him close as I smudged the black around his eyes. Between his legs, my one knee stabbed into the mattress, holding myself up still.

Describing the reason for our position would be difficult if someone walked in on us.

His breath bounced against the nape of my neck, sending chills down my spine. It was too comforting for my liking.

My fingers whisked through his hair, feathering out toward the ends. It was softer than I expected it to be.

I lowered my head to match his to check if my work had been dark enough to still be noticeable. His eyes looked up meeting mine in the same second as I had.

His rubies were gorgeous compared to mine. Sure they were dark and could be taken violently but something about them was encaptivating.

"I finished your eyes," I mumbled softly. I blinked a couple of times before retracting my face away from his. "I mean your eyeliner."

I shouldn't be doing this. I just broke up with Ren 4 days ago.

But his face is so pretty when he isn't mad.

"What do you think?" I wondered, walking to put the eyeliner down. My breath was shaky along with my hands. My mind had been rewinding and replaying the moment where our eyes had connected.

"Looks sick honestly." He admitted the mirror only centimeters away from its reflection.

"Right. I think it'll look cool under the mask you wear but it's up to you." I whipped, shrugging my shoulders with uncertainty.

"Guess your empty head can think of good ideas sometimes." He smirked teasingly. The things he does to me.

"Whatever, don't make me doubt myself even more." I joked, intentionally erking him. "You know since you may already read this from my mind, how are you so short-tempered and hotheaded with everyone?"

"I don't have a short temper. I just have a quick reaction to bullshit." He boasted, closing his eyes pridefully.

I let out a few laughs at his high confidence. "I like that. It's like a be the best fuck the rest type of thing-- I get it." I smiled, nodding my head.

"Exactly, finally someone fucking gets it." He laughed with me, genuinely enjoying the moment.

Then it popped into my head. "I just realized that you don't have eyeliner to do that yourself." Going to my desk, I pulled a pen from the drawer, cupping my hands around it as I walked toward him. "Here. Now you do."

He took it from my hands slowly, staring at it in awe. "What the fuck-- can you do that with everything?"

"Not everything but most things. It just needs to be already made, I'm not like Momo who can literally create things. I just change the reality of them." I explained, sitting next to him again.

"I explode shit, there's none much to it." He gloated, looking down at his hands.

"But I'd honestly rather have your quirk than be a caster. It's so much better." I insisted, hugging my own arms.

"Why you think that?" He wondered, turning his body to face mine.

I mimicked his movements facing him. My foot lung loosely, swinging side to side, brushing his leg. "There's so many stupid things wrong with being a caster for literally no reason. People are scared of me and love to assume what I'm not before even meeting me, and just growing up wasn't nice for me." I explained, going down the list without too much detail.

"Don't let that stop you from being the fucking best. It's like you said 'Be the best and fuck the end.'" He ranted without his usual yells. "Letting stupid shit like that stop you from being at your best is a waste of time. Might as well find something else to do with that bullshit attitude."

With a smile glued to my face, I looked between the ground and him. "I really like you when you aren't being a complete asshole."

"Guess you aren't too bad." He agreed, shrugging sheepishly.

I looked away realizing the tv was still on but no longer playing the anime he and I were watching.

"Wanna play some Mario Kart before you go?" I asked, getting up to move my bean bags to the front of the tv.

"Hell yeah. Ima wipe the ground with your ass. Prepare to lose." He sneered, walking to the bean bag as I left the room.

I walked across the hall to Senya's room where I could hear him playing his own video games.

"Hey." I greeted walking pasting him to the Switch.

He pulled the headset off his head, looking at me. "Hey. Bakugou still here?" He wondered.

"Yeah, we're gonna use the Switch right now, and then I think he's leaving," I informed stopping at his doorway before leaving.

"Alright, don't break anything. I'll be here if you need anything." He noted before slipping the headphones back on his head.

Closing the door behind me, I stood against the wall next to it.

My mind scrambled with different things but specifically him.

How he made me smile and feel. The feelings that bubbled in my stomach whenever he'd do something even remotely attractive.

God, I didn't understand the human feeling of emotion.

"Okay, I'm back. I hope you're ready to eat your words." I teased, hooking the console onto the tv. Once hooking it up, I sat down on the bean bag putting my legs on his lap. "Which color?"

"Red, for sure." He ordered, reaching out for it.

"Then I shall take the blue." I smiled, shifting a bit so my upper half was facing the tv.

Switching to the game, I couldn't help but be excited about playing with him. It was a small thing but something about it just made me happy.

"Who's your main?" I wondered.

"Bowser."

"Hmph. Not surprised." I mumbled with a chuckle.

"What did you say! I bet yours isn't any better, shitty girl." He scoffed, rolling his eyes at me.

"That's where you're wrong. Yoshi and I are gonna drag you through the mud." I gloated, smirking as we started the game.

"Ima kill you. Be ready to die, witch." He sat more forward being careful of my legs.

"You can't even actually kill me in the game?" I puzzled, keeping my focus as we played.

"Watch me kill you anyway!"


	19. (18) hiraeth

"All right. That's it for class today."

My head laid on the table, arms hanging off its front, as I doze off the last seconds of the school day.

Words couldn't explain the fatigue I had from staying up all night talking to my mom about everything that has happened since our move.

"There's only one week left before your final exams begin. I'm sure you're all studying constantly, right? Don't forget to keep training. The written exam is only one element. There's also the practical portion to worry about. Good luck." Aizawa warned before heading out of the room with his stack of papers.

Once he left, I let my eyes completely close.

Final exams hadn't remotely been on my mind, the practical especially.

The idea of taking an entire semester's test was exhausting since there had been too many events in between to remember it all.

'Get up dumbass.'

I turned my head to the left, opening my eyes. Glaring at him as he put his things away, I watched. "You couldn't even put in the slightest bit of effort to tell me out loud instead of disturbing my thoughts?"

"You mean your ramble about exams? Who knew a person could talk so fucking much in their head." He went off, shaking his head at me.

"Says the one who was getting mad at his worksheet earlier." I mocked, tongue sticking out of my mouth frustratedly.

Kirishima walked up and began to talk to him as I grabbed my things together.

The idea that our thoughts were no longer kept to ourselves was beginning to bother me.

The safe place I once had in my mind was practically a danger zone with Bakugou up in my business, curious to what I was thinking when I wasn't paying attention to my outsides.

"Sounds like I should be studying with her," Kirishima noted, looking down at Bakugou who was seated. He had been referring to Momo who was offering help to struggling peers.

"You think I don't know enough? Maybe I should beat the lessons into your skull!" He fumed, fist tight on his desk.

I looked at him frowning stiffly at how riled up he got over simple things.

"I'm counting on it." Kirishima bubbled. He turned around to see my stank face and laughed slightly. "Yuma, you should join us!"

"Huh!? Don't invite that witch, we got other things to worry about than her slow ass!" Bakugou disagreed, standing up with his hands slammed on the table.

I glared at him before smiling back up at the red-head. "You know since you asked, I'd love to." I looked back at Bakugou who had been ready to explode.

Although I had planned to study with my brother since he was a third-year or Kendo, who I learned was both my neighbor at home and in school classrooms, studying with them may have given me the upper hand.

Rankings were one of the only ideas that had truly mattered to me since it was something more I could mock my brother about.

Being 7th in the class wasn't exactly topping his 3rd.

"Tch. Fine, but don't expect me to take my time! Have fun keeping up with me." Bakugou crossed his arms adverting his eyes away from me.

"All right! What days work with you guys?" Kirishima asked, attempting to organize a date.

Slouching forward while thinking, I shrugged. "I'm okay with anything." It hadn't been like I had much to do for that matter.

Ding-ding

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"I have to go but I'll see you guys when we study?" I wondered, grabbing my bag before leaving.

Kirishima gave me a thumbs up. "For sure!"

"Wait. Don't leave yet." Bakugou stopped me midway out the door.

"Why?"

"I'm going with you. Brother's giving me a ride." He mumbled walking forward with me standing confused behind.

I didn't know what was going on between those two or how they had gotten so close within a short period of time.

It made no sense.

"Since when do you and my brother talk?" I interrogated, curious of the unknown I had been left out of. It almost didn't feel fair that the two kept me out of the loop.

"Sports festival." A one-worded answer. He was very much avoiding the actual answer.

Staying quiet, I peeked into his mind. Searching for the reason to my unanswered question, I stood quietly as we walked.

He could sense me in his mind, there was no doubt about it. But it had only pushed him to not thinking about the subject much more.

I didn't understand.

Since the first day I had arrived, I always felt a certain deja vu with the blonde. His presence, his attitude, his way of thinking. It was all too familiar.

Yet I couldn't pin down what it was and I knew it wasn't just the dreams.

Clearly, with my stubborn self, I had been determined to found out.

"Hey, sorry for taking long." I greeted my brother, apologizing for the late arrival.

"It's fine, get in the car." The anger was practically screaming out of him.

Turning my face toward Bakugou, he definitely also noticed my brother's off mood.

"What the fuck is up your ass today?" I asked, leaning forward into the front seats from the back middle.

Yes, he had his moments often where something bothered or upset him, as we all saw, but nothing would aggravate him as badly as I had.

Keeping his cool no matter the situation, he hadn't been known for getting as aggravated as he had been right now.

"Just some things you wouldn't understand." He sighed. His hand tightened on the steering wheel as the other held his head against the window.

Bakugou next to him blurred the conversation, earbuds in his ears, head laid back against the seat. It was obvious he didn't care.

"Lemme guess something to do with Hado?" I guessed just from the tone of his emotions.

Heartbreak.

"Mhm." He confirmed. "She and I were supposed to study for exams but she flaked on me to study with another guy."

He had gone on about her, expressing his fondness. For me, it had been surprising to hear since he was never the type to want to settle down with a girl.

For Senya, it was a distraction.

"That sucks, sorry that happened to you." I grieved, fluffing his hair before sitting back in my seat. He shrugged brushing it off. "By the way, I'm gonna study with Bakugou and Kirishima."

"Wanna use some old study books I have? May not help but just to have them." He suggesting with definite uncertainty.

The teachings between Shiketsu and UA were different but there was no bother in trying. "Yeah sure, Bakugou could help me find them before we drop him off home."

"Huh?" He wondered at the use of his name. He pulled the earbud out slightly in hopes of understanding what he missed.

"You're gonna help me look for some study books in the basement," I announced, not taking no for an answer.

He shrugged before putting the earbud back in his ear. Leaning forward once again, I pulled the earbud closest to me from his ear, inserting it into my own.

"What the hell?" He spit, looking at me on the side of his shoulder.

Ignoring him, I paid more attention to the song that was playing.

A remembrance of a memory popped into my head after hearing only a few seconds of it.

"This is the song we listened to in the library, right?" I recalled, smiling at the thought of him saving it or even remembering it for that matter.

"Shut up, it just happened to be a good song, alright?!" He insisted, taking it back from my ear. (if want specifics it's the song 'Summer in Paris' from the playlist)

"Terrible liar but sure." I snorted, getting out of the car. I walked over to the trunk grabbing my bag. "Come on, it's gonna take awhile looking for the books."

"Don't fucking rush me, shitty girl!" He scoffed. His bag stood in the car since my brother would take him home later.

It had been a day or two since he last came over.

He had been a tad bit salty with me since when he was here, I won the game of Mario Cart. Not winning was a clear pet peeve of his that I so willingly was ready to pick at.

Walking down to the basement, my hands searched the side of the wall for the light. The amount of darkness in the room made me feel as if my eyes were closed.

"We can start with the boxes over here." I instructed, pointing to the ones nearest to us.

"Why is there so many damn boxes?" He wondered, opening the box next to me.

"Well, we did just move here recently about a month and a half ago. We didn't want to throw everything out so it's down here." I explained, going through the box.

We kept old photos, school items, decorations and other things that we didn't have room for down here. It had mostly been my mom's idea since we didn't have the time to go through it all.

My back faced away from him to look at another box, I walked a few meters away.

"What's this?"

Turning around, I looked to see Bakugou holding a ring. A small half frown spread across my face. "It was my dad's." I walked over, looking at it in his hold.

A sliver band with the traditional gold jewel in the middle. Originally, it had been meant to be passed on to future generations by unofficial caster law but neither Senya or I wanted it.

"What happened to him? Ya know, how did he go all psycho and shit?" He wondered, looking at it in his hold.

A part of me didn't want to tell him in fear of him judging my mom for never leaving my dad. But there was the part of me that, for some odd reason, just trusted him.

He didn't strike me as the type who would go around yelling my life to people.

"So casters casters, at a certain age, get claimed for what people know as light or dark depending on their true nature. When my parents met, my dad hadn't been claimed yet." I sat down on the stair as I spoke. "Obviously he got claimed for the dark and that's when everything went downhill. They had Senya who he didn't care about but when they had me he became very abuse and possessive in hopes of having me also claimed for the dark."

"Damn, that sounds rough. How come Senya turned out light though?" He questioned, taking a seat next to me. He examined the ring, looking its small details.

"My mom. She was claimed for the light so she got to save him from turning out like our dad. Me on the other hand got stuck with both." It felt strange talking about it.

It was a topic I avoided talking about since it was so sensitive. It had too many things that I wasn't ready to share publicly yet including the years in a mental hospital.

"Never realized how much you'd gone through." He mumbled to himself. He looked deep in thought, almost regretful.

The vibe in the room had gone down and made me uncomfortable. Added on the the reasons why I didn't like to talk about it.

"It's fine, there's nothing I can do about it now besides use it as strength to want to be better." I smiled, looking at him. Placing my hands on my knees, I stood up, lending my hand out to him. "Let's look for those books."

He looked at my hand before taking it and pulling himself up.

We searched through a few more boxes before finding a few of the books. I didn't have the mental energy to look for anymore after we found the two.

"Let's go." I noted as I closed one of the boxes.

Bakugou was a step ahead of me, already waking toward the stairs.

As I closed the box, I noticed a photo shining dimly against the lamp above me. Pull it out, I looked at it shocked.

There was no way.

"Are you coming or what? I'm gonna lock you down here." Bakugou groaned, frustratedly at the top near the door.

I looked at the photo before shoving it into the inside of my blazer. "Yeah, I'm coming. Calm yourself, candlestick."

——

"Bakugou, stop smacking him with the book!" I scolded, taking it from his hold and hitting his arm with it.

"I would if he were to fucking learn shit and stop being a damn idiot!" He yelled, taking it back from me and hitting me.

"I know you didn't just hit me." I raged quietly, hands balling into a fist.

"And what if I did?" He teased, smirking down at me from where we sat next to each other.

My eyes burned into his, waiting for the moment I could take it back from hit and smack some sense into him.

"Guys, no need for the hostility." Kirishima laughed, scratching the back of his neck. He had been the calm one between us as we attempted to study for the exam.

Bakugou was yelled at him or me, causing the entire cafe we were in to look at us in concern. I understood that he was trying to help him but he didn't have to act like a rabid dog.

'I'm not a fucking rabid dog.' Keeping my head straight, my eyes moved to the side looking at him annoyed.

'If only you knew how wrong you were.' I thought back, taking a drink from my water.

The entire time he and I had been communicating silently between the two of us.

He and Kirishima were going over their own things while I sat next to Bakugou reviewing my own since we had different topics we had been struggling on.

Every once and a while, he would look over and mentally tell me how to solve things at times.

I found it kind of sweet.

Until now, the moment we are at where I want to smack him into space.

"I think I'm done studying for the day." I sighed, shutting the textbooks around me shut.

"Same here, I just Bakugou smacked enough of it into me." Kirishima joked as he put his own away. He was always so positive with situations.

"Tch. Not my fault you don't understand shit." Bakugou growled under his breath.

Reaching over to the other half of Bakugou's uneaten sandwich, I bit into it helping myself. Studying took too much energy that I limitedly had in my system.

He watched, sliding the entire plate over to me.

"How'd you guys think the practical is gonna go?" Kirishima asked curiously.

This written portion was easily going to be a breeze. Nothing about it was overbearingly difficult for me not to understand.

"I think it'll be fine. I just hope it isn't anything in partners since there's a chance I'd get stuck with this one over here." I gestured for the blonde before taking another bite.

"I'd rather be partnered with Deku than with you." He spat, looking out the window.

"Oh come on guys, you two would actually make a great pair! Your skills are top notch manly plus you already hang out so much." Kirishima tried to convince us.

I could help but blush slightly at the thought of us being a good pair. 

Although Bakugou may not agree or something, I couldn't help but think that in a way we would be good working together.

"Whatever. It's not like it's gonna happen so shut up about it." Bakugou dismissed. He stared down at the sandwich piece I hadn't touched yet.

I rolled my eyes sliding it back over to him. He should have kept it for himself before giving it to me.

"I think I'm gonna head out now, but I'll see you both at school! Good luck!" Kirishima grinned, waving as he gathered his things and left.

I got up from the both and stretched my arms out.

"Where you going?" Bakugou questioned. He watched as I stretched my arms across my body and into the arm.

"Needed to stand real quick after sitting for so long." I explained before sitting down where Kirishima was before. I sat vertically with the seat, leaving my legs across it.

Bakugou continued to eat while flipping through pages of the textbook. I reached for the menu looking at something to snack on.

Looking up at him, I carefully watched.

He was calmer, more gentle with his actions. The level of aggression he had been before had changed within the few seconds he and I were alone.

"Wanna share a pizza cookie thing?" I asked in hopes of him saying yes.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll go order." He got up, taking the menu and my empty cup of water.

Looking outside, it was a beautiful day.

The sun shined over the trees as the sky complimented was the clouds that swayed by slowly. It made me sleepy seeing how peaceful everything had been.

"Here." The sound of the pan hitting the table rang.

I turned around a smiled as the cookie topped with ice cream was now in my possession.

"Thanks for refilling my water." I grabbed it taking a drink before reaching for the spoons. I handed one to him as I dug in.

Something about these were so comforting to me.

"Would you really rather work with Midoriya than me?" I wondered, bringing the spoon to my mouth. It genuinely did have me curious to know if he were serious or not.

"Fuck no. Shitty hair wouldn't have let it go if I said I wouldn't mind working with you." He revealed, taking a bit himself.

Then he realized he revealed too much.

A smile showed up on my face almost too quickly. "Did you just admit to actually wanting to work with me for the final exam if we could?" I teased, propping my chin on my palm.

Butterflies.

"Shut up. I don't wanna but I'm just saying it wouldn't be terrible. Stop overthinking it, dumbass." He insisted. He grabbed the pan pulling it toward himself.

"No no, I'm fully taking that as a compliment and will never let go of that." I smiled, pulling the pan back.

I didn't have a reason as to why it made me so happy but it just did. He made me laugh and smile even if he hadn't meant to. Although he tried to be angry and serious, I couldn't take him seriously.

"I hate you." He deadpanned.

"Aww, I think that's the nicest thing you've told me." I cooed, bring my hands to the side of my face, smiling more teasingly.

He smiled lightly, shaking his head as he laughed at my way of being immune to his heartlessness.

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"My brother's here. Let's go?" I motioned, standing up and grabbing our things.

"You didn't even fucking finish the food." He pointed out to the pan still half full with the cookie.

I smirked, clicking my tongue against the back of my teeth. "Who said we're leaving it here?"

He looked at me shocked. "You're gonna fucking take it?!"

"Duh, now let's go before someone sees." I ushered, grabbing his hand and the cookie before running out.

"You're insane."

"But you like it."


	20. (19) fract

"All right, put your pencils down. The last person in each row, bring the answer sheets to me." Aizawa called out, gaining our attention back after the long hours and days of written exams.

Taking one last look at my test, I sighed before passing it back to Shoji behind me. 

My head wasn't hurting as badly as I expected it to hurt which was an obvious positive.

"Thanks for those two answers." I groaned quietly as I turned to face Bakugou.

There were two math problems I had been struggling on for more time than I'd like and I'm pretty sure he heard me screaming mentally in pain.

He ended up giving me the answers to both in the end.

"It's whatever, I just couldn't stand hearing your fucking whining." He jeered, propping his head on his palm.

"Well then get out of my head and you wouldn't have to hear it," I concluded. The only reason why he heard was that he voluntarily inviting himself in.

"If I didn't then you would have been stuck on those two problems. I think about that, shitty girl." He concluded, rolling his eyes.

"I hate that you're right." I sighed.

"Go change into your costumes. I will meet you out in a few minutes." Aizawa instructed before leaving the room.

Pushing myself from my desk, fixing my skirt as I did. "Let's go, candlestick."

"Yeah, yeah whatever, I'm comin'." He mumbled, walking next to me as we walked to the locker rooms.

I hope the practical test wasn't going to be anything too overbearing difficult although I knew I'd be fine either way.

I was strong enough to defend myself without any help if it came down to it. But then again, it mattered what we were going to be tested on.

"Hey, y/n." Jirou greeted me as I walked into the room.

I smiled as waved, walking past her to my locker. "Hey."

My fingers fiddled with the lock trying to get it open. Once I did, I began to get undressed.

"You are Bakugou have been close." She continued as she slipped on her pants. She and I were rather close if I did say so myself but her relationship with Momo was much stronger.

"Mm, yeah, I guess we have." I shrugged, unbuttoning my shirt. This conversation was going to grow the more it went on and the more their interest in the topic grew.

"I've noticed it too! He went home with you the other day, didn't he?" Ochaco bubbled, joining the conversation.

"I saw that too!" Mina agreed, joining in the conversation. A few other mumbled were hummed across the across by the others.

Bending down to zip my boots, chuckling. "You guys are stalkers. But yes, he went home with me. My brother just gives him rides."

Of course, there was much more to it but telling them would lead to a longer conversation that I at the moment didn't want to hear at the moment.

Closing my locker, I walked outside the locker room on my way to the area we were supposed to meet.

"Hey." A deep voice called from behind, making a slight echo in the hall.

I turned and smiled. "Hey." I greeted Bakugou. He had been holding his gauntlets in his hands as he walked toward me. "Need help?"

"Like your weak ass would be able to carry even one." He mocked. We walked next to each other, slowing from our original rushed pace.

"Give me one, I bet I can. I'll even help you put it on." I declared, determined to prove him wrong. It couldn't have been that difficult just to put it on.

He chuckled inoffensively before shrugging. "Don't tell me I didn't warn ya."

His shoulder raised, lifting the one closest to me into my hold.

Saying it was heavy was an understatement.

It resembled holding a boulder that slid off the side of a cliff, practically pulling down half of my body weight to the ground.

"Holy fuck. How do you carry this on each of your wrists?!" I breathed, dragging myself forward until we came to a stop at the area. A greater appreciation for his strength was set on in me.

"It's not that bad, you're just weak." He smirked, enjoying my struggle.

"Not even, I just don't do great in the strength aspect of things," I explained, defending myself. I used my knee to lift the gauntlet up my chest more, taking a better grip of it. "Gimme your hand."

Lifting his hand parallel to the opening, he stood still waiting for my next move.

My arms and hands worked together attempting to fit it inside, yet too much of my own failure was occurring. No matter how I positioned it or turned the gauntlet, it wouldn't fit inside the way I wanted it to.

He watched, looking down with much amusement to my struggle.

His eyes roamed the every detail of my face from creasing at my eyebrows to the deep concentration of my teeth biting my lip to focus on my objective.

My eyes adverted toward him for a second noticing the tug at the corner of his lips which each second I continued. My own face couldn't help but also copy the same expression.

Scrunching his hand together, he finally put it into the gauntlet.

"I wasn't done." I pouted, groaning frustratedly at the fact that he wouldn't let me do it on my own.

"I was done watching you struggle." He laughed, shaking his head. I looked up trying to keep my frown on my face in order to make him feel at fault for my sadness but came to fail when my smile matched his.

"I see you put on the eyeliner." I pointed out, delicately smoothing the black outline with the pad of my finger.

"You have no idea how many fucking times I stabbed myself in the eye." He scoffed, thinking back to the moment. His face relaxed into my hand, connecting my freezing temperature with the opposite warmth he embodied.

"I'll help you then." I smiled, my eyes connecting with his, putting everything around us in a pause.

Neither of us noticed the distance between had lessened, chests almost leaning off of each other.

"Now then, let's bring the last test," Aizawa announced behind us, the sound of footsteps scratching against the concrete ground.

We stood staring at each other further in a daze until he looked away, behind me.

Not speaking a word about the moment, we turn to join our peers in the group they were huddled in. Kirishima made his way over to us from Denki, being the separator between us.

"Remember, it's possible to fail this final. If you wanna go to camp, don't make any stupid mistakes." He continued unenthusiastically.

"Uh." Jirou interrupted next to me where she stood. "Why are all the teachers here?" She questioned, pointing her hand out to the different pros.

Until now, I hadn't noticed that they were all here. Of course, I saw them, but my mind hadn't made the connection that they weren't supposed to be here according to the rumors that had been going around of the final exam.

The bad feeling in my stomach bubbled around sending nervous chills down my skin.

"I expect many of you have gathered information and believe you have some idea of what you'll be faced with today." Aizawa assumed, most likely hearing the talk from the times we spoke too loudly.

Kaminari jumped up, throwing his head toward the sky. "We're fightin' those big ol' metal robots!" He exclaimed, joying sprouting from his system.

"Firework! S'mores! Here we come, camp!" Mina added to his statement also being full of excitement.

"Actually this year's tests will be completely different, for various reasons." Nezu popped up from Aizawa's scarf as if it were completely normal that he was in there the entire time.

"You're changing things!?" Momo breathed, utterly in shock.

This was a turn of events that I'm sure none of us had expected to occur.

"The tests now has a new focus. There will be hero work, of course. But also teamwork and combat between actual people." He introduced as he claimed down Aizawa. "So what does that mean for you? You students will be working together in pairs and your opponents will be one of our esteemed UA teachers! Isn't that fabulous!"

'Fuck' Repeated in my head more times than it should have.

This was far from fabulous.

"We're... fighting the teachers?!" Ochaco repeated in terror, paranoid of the thought.

"Additionally, your partners and opponents have already been chosen. They were determined at my discretion based on various factors, including fighting style, grades, and interpersonal relationships." Aizawa explained to us.

I prayed to the gods that I hadn't been paired with anyone who would be difficult to work with. Luckily for whoever I was grouped with, we'd have the advantage of being a group of three instead of two.

"First, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki are a team. Against me." Aizawa smirked, looking the two dead in the eye.

My foot tapped against the ground as my teeth clenched down on my thumb. Being nervous was a far over understatement for all of us at the moment.

"Then we have Midoriya paired with Bakugou and y/n as a group of three. And their opponent is..."

"I am here to fight." All Might announced triumphally, landing in front of us.

My hand slapped over my mouth as my body had the immediate feeling of needing to throw up my internal organs.

Scratch the idea I said before this; even being a group of three, we were going to get crushed.

To top off this terrible news, I was stuck working with the two boys who had the absolute worst relationship with each other.

"We're up against All Might?!" The two gasp, fear taking over their eyes.

No words escaped my mouth as my shock brought me to a frozen state, unable to form coherent sentences. All Might was the number one hero, skills far more satisfactory than ours could ever reach especially with being at the high school level. First years, to be more exact.

"You're going to have to work together, guys, if you want to win." All Might mocked subtly at us, aiming his comment more toward the ash-blonde and emerald haired boys.

Bakugou looked to the other side of me, growling at Midoriya, the deepest hate, fueled in his eyes.

"And now let's announce the teams and the teachers they'll be fighting in order!" Nezu exclaimed excitedly.

Whether it was good or not, we happened to be the last team to go on for our final. That also meant we had the entire staff and class of students watching as we attempted to pass.

I was dreading it.

Aizawa and Nezu went on the explain that the teachers would be wearing weights that would be half their body weight in order to slow them down.

To me, that wouldn't slow down All Might one bit. We were talking about the #1 hero for fucks sake. He could pat my head and there I go, off into the sky.

In order to pass the exam, we either needed to handcuff them or escape. Sounded simple but there would be many other conflicts between, I already knew.

"Let's begin. The teams will take the practical exam in the order you were called. We have a stage prepared for you. Sato, Kirishima. You're up." Aizawa instructed, looking toward the two.

All the teachers turned, making their way inside the building behind them.

"Those waiting their turn to fight can either watch the exams or try to strategize together as a team. It's your choice. That's all." He concluded, following the other pros.

"Kacchan, y/n, we should come up with a plan to win against All Might. Escaping would be our best--" Midoriya started to explain before Bakugou walked away without giving him another second to speak.

My eyes rolled toward the sky before letting out a heavy breath of aggravation. "I'm so sorry, Midoriya. I'll talk to him about it, okay?"

"Uh- yeah, okay..." He agreed, also showing signs of slight discouragement and frustration.

I followed where Bakugou walked off, already feeling disappointed with how things were beginning to playing out before we had even started our final.

Everyone knew they didn't quite have a friendship. They had a strange yet strong unspoken bond with each other although neither would consider each other as friends. I felt that was mainly because of Bakugou who was the main blockage of that ever happening. His pride was in the way of them actually being a good duo together in combat.

"Hey, what was that?" I complained exaggeratedly, crossing my arms as I approached him.

He was off to the side, blankly staring into the distance as the echoes of crashes and booms noised, signaling our classmate's exam had begun.

"I left. I thought that was fucking obvious." He scoffed, mirroring my stance.

"It was but seriously, just listen to the kid. He's trying to make sure we pass." I went on trying to make him understand that this was our final. Failing this was going to really affect us in the future when becoming pros.

"I'm not working with that idiot, Deku. I'd rather fail." He insisted, annoyed with me.

"You said the same thing about me at the cafe the other day and guess what, now you're working with me and Midoriya. Just suck it already and deal with it." I was beginning to get frustrated with him.

"Whatever the hell you say will not convince me. Just drop it." He snapped, turning around to walk away from me again.

My teeth clenched in an attempt to prevent myself from getting too upset and fully yelling phrases I'd later regret. Cresent moon marks scarred into my palms the harder my hands balled into the fist to extinguish some of that anger.

My hand reached out, grabbing his in order to stop him. "Why are you being so hardheaded?"

"I'm not swooping down to his level to win. I'm gonna win the way I fucking want to." He argued back, his eyes piercing into mine.

"We're gonna get our asses kicked by All Might..." I sighed, running my hand through my hair in a slight panic.

"No, you're going to get your asses kicked. I can hold my own." He gloated, eyes beaming with confidence.

"We're supposed to be a team! Stop being such a fucking narcissist and just listen for once since you never do! Maybe working with him will finally make you realize that working with people is necessary." I mocked, looking away in irritation.

"Who's side are you on? Mine or his?" He looked directly into my eyes, letting me see right through them.

He was in pain, annoyed, with bits of frustration. His thoughts showed a range of events he and Midoriya had going back to when they were kids.

They replayed in his mind, crowding it and pushing away every other thought.

The thing was, he let me see it. He opened his mind, letting me in.

"Kacchan, I didn't mean to." Midoriya cried as he followed behind the blonde. Tears streaming down his face, dancing across his cheek in directions away from its source.

Something happened. Something that Bakugou would hold in and spite Midoriya for.

"She always defends you! You're always in the way, Deku. Just go." Bakugou sighed, tears almost coming out of his own eyes. He never cried but something about the subject just hurt him the way no other person could.

"Answer me!" He yelled, switching his hand so it was around my wrist. He pulled me forward, forcing me to look straight up at him. His face was fumed, creasing and contorting from his emotions that were being revealed so heavily.

"Neither," I whispered softly, breathing lighter than I had been before. Part of me was scared of him from how hard his grip had turned yet part of me wanted to hug him and comfort him. Noticing I had been holding my breath, I let it out and looked away, breaking the strangling eye contact that was between us. "I just want to pass and go to the camp with my friends. But if you're not going to be cooperative then I'm not gonna force you."

My free hand pulled his locked one away from the hold, yanking it roughly. Giving him one last look, I turned and walked away.

The emotion inside choked me, the need to cry from not only anger but remorse.

I wanted to understand his point of view but it was such a dangerous time for him to be stubborn. I wanted to understand why it pained him to work with Midoriya, why it bothered him.

"Fuck!" He screamed, watching the distance between us grow further with each step I took.

He prayed, hoped that I would stop, turn back, and continue to yell at him just to hear me speak.

I pursed my lips stopping myself from responding back, running to him.

The thing was...

I never chose him over you.

You just made it harder to understand. To get close, no matter how much I wanted to.

I would choose you over anyone, anytime.


	21. (20) Persistence

Italics = mind conversation or a memory.

The doors closed behind us, creaking as they did.

The boys stood each on one side of me, keeping their distance from each other. Nervous chills ran down my spine with the anxiety that stirred in my system from knowing we were an uncooperative team.

"I won't have another half-assed win like the sports festival." Bakugou spat, glaring past me to Midoriya. "We'll be getting individual scores in the upcoming finals. New rankings." He took a step forward, not caring about us. "So we'll all know exactly where we're standing."

Midoriya ran after him, leaving me there.

I stood hesitant. Trepidatous for that matter. There was just that feeling, the gut one, that told me this wasn't to end well. There was a hope in me that prayed I was wrong.

Catching up to them, we stood close yet with small distance between us. 

We were supposed to be a team. Work together to fight and win the battle that was our final test. Yet that wasn't working out one bit.

"Kacchan, listen," Midoriya begged, attempting to get him to be reasonable. "For this exam, the teachers are the villains and we're the heroes, so we need a solid plan. Normally, I'd suggest that we analyze the villain's combat ability and choose to fight them or run away based off that. But in this case, the villain is All Might, so we don't need to think about it..."

Blurring out the rest of his rant, I tried to get into Bakugou's mind. It was quieter than I expected but that could have been because he was intentionally leaving me out.

'Bakugou. Try to listen to him.' I tried to tell him, hoping he wouldn't ignore me.

'No.' Was the only reply I got. Asshole.

Even then, Midoriya was still rambling. Part of me hoped that Bakugou had been listening to him despite walking forward like he hadn't been there.

But I'd be terribly wrong.

"Stop following me!" Bakugou yelled, not stopping for Midoriya even once.

I sighed. I felt bad for Midoriya. His plan would have been our victory so easily. He was smart in the aspect of creating well-detailed plans that turned to be successful.

My hand placed on his shoulder, giving him a shove forward. He looked back at me confused until I gave him the face of "Go, try again."

He nodded, continuing forward. "All Might is probably waiting for us on this main road. We should take another route."

"I'm not gonna run away from this fight. It'll look better if we blast that smile off his face." Bakugou insisted, letting his ego take over reality.

"Bakugou, no." I groaned, walking up, appearing to his left.

"We should avoid fighting him no matter what it takes," Midoriya added to my statement.

The tension between us continued to grow thicker. No amount of begging would convince Bakugou of our side. To him, his idea was perfect, without imperfections, no flaws. Little did he know that there was much risk to them.

"I'm gonna toy with him until the time is almost up, and then knock him unconscious for real." He raged, eyes kept to his path ahead of him as he yelled.

"Again you're being hardheaded. Do you really think you can knock the number one hero unconscious?" I asked curiously. Any normal person would know that the idea itself sounded insane.

Then again, Bakugou wasn't normal.

"Yes, and you can watch me do it!" He yelled back, finally making eye contact with me. Our argument from earlier stood, keeping us from fully getting along.

"You know what All Might can do!" Midoriya sprinted, making his way back over to us quickly. "Even with those handicap weights, it's impossible for you to win in a fight against him."

Bakugou's arm swung back, connecting his gauntlet with the skin on Midoriya's face.

"Bakugou, what the fuck?!" I looked at him angrily with disappointment before heading to Midoriya's side.

Bending down, I lifted his face looking for any obvious bruising or bleeding. My eyes shifted to Bakugou, raged by his behavior.

His actions and expressions screamed annoyed yet his emotions radiated jealously. Pain.

"I don't wanna hear another word. Just because you think you're getting stronger doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do." Bakugou's envy was blinding him. He was missing the whole point. The entire idea. And it was beginning to throw us off our main objective.

"Wait, Kacchan!" Midoriya called as he walked away. "All I'm trying to do is get us to pass the final! This is for all of us!"

"I told you, we don't need your dumb power to pass! I can win it all by myself!"

"Will you stop yelling?! This is why we never have real conversations!"

I was still on the ground, crouched down, head in my hands.

Their arguments resembled ones of an old couple. Loud, obnoxious, where others watched wondering if they were going to ever stop.

Then there was a shift. I could sense something different. Strong and quick powered. It only meant one thing.

"Shut up! We need to--" I rose yet I was too late. Large rumbling followed by packs of forceful winds tumbled toward us, sending everything including us into the air.

Buildings shook, breaking each window on their exterior, ruining the insides as well. Pieces of rock, broken building, even prop cars, flew along with us.

It was mighty with no thought of hesitation put into the attack.

All Might was not going to go easy on us, even if he had a special relationship with Midoriya. His intentions were clear: he was going to play the part in order to have us try our best, exceed our normal boundary.

It was clear as glass that this test was not going to be an easy breeze.

"Who really cares if I destroy this city?" All Might mused, acting optimistically in his villainous role.

It was unsettling.

Although it was the same All Might, there was an intimidating look to him.

With a stomp that shook the ground, he sent another gush of wind at us.

"If you think of this as an exam and not a real fight, you'll be sorry." He swore, warning us of what was yet to come. "I'm a villain now, heroes. Remember that. You'd better come at me with everything you've got. I won't pull my punches!"

My mind couldn't wrap itself around the idea of the pure strength he had. The entire main street center of the stage area had been demolished, no hint of its previous setup.

"It's over if we fight him head-on. Let's run!" Midoriya yelled before turning and heading in the opposite direction.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Bakugou screamed.

My hand reached to my waist where the handcuffs sat. Realistically, I'd be able to freeze time, allowing myself to simply walk up to All Might and handcuff him. I didn't want to do that. Not unless we were in a dire situation with no other choice.

I wanted us to truly win. Work together, be the best group we could be.

All Might flew at Bakugou leaving him with little time to react quick enough.

"How about a Stun Grenade?" Bakugou challenged, preparing himself. His arm lifted, releasing the explosion with a bright flash. We were all blinded with little view of the result. "You want everything I've got, All Might? Like that wasn't my plan."

Bakugou flew into the air, straight at the "villain".

"I never--" His sentence was finished as All Might gripped his face, obstructing his entire face. "...hold back, dammit!" His words were muffed.

Although he couldn't see well, Bakugou released an explosion right on All Might's face.

"Ow, ow, ow!" He cried against the fiery sensation. The blast was continuous until All Might grabbed Bakugou's free arm shoving him into the dirt ground.

"Your rapid-fire blast were weak--hardly more than a sting." All Might declared, laughing off the pain. He turned back looking at Midoriya who was standing still, only a spectator. "Where are you going?"

In a rapid second, All Might switched from Bakugou's chokehold to behind Midoriya.

I ran to Bakugou, noticing his struggle.

"Listen to me next time." I quietly scolded, wiping the blood leaking from his face and wiping it on the leg of my costume with no care to the stain.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you already, Young Midoriya." All Might sang behind us. Midoriya was in fear, it was all the radiated out of him. "Are you really going to leave your teammates here and run away?"

Midoriya's quirk activation as he jumped away from the villain.

"Uh-uh. Do you think that's going to work?" All Might puzzled as he watched his student. I reached down for Bakugou, helping him up.

The look in his eyes said everything. No words needed to be shared to understand what he was thinking.

Hastily, we headed toward All Might, ready to attack.

But it backfired when Bakugou realized he was heading the direction as Midoriya who had been flying back.

"Ah-- Move it!" Bakugou warned as their two bodies collied. They were simply two rag dolls being played with.

"You both are frustrating me," I growled as I headed toward the muscled man. Compared to him, my power was almost nothing--even if it were meant for a villain.

My leg swung up, creating a perfect 90 degrees with my hand on the ground for stability. As predicted, my foot flew blew by his face missing it by a centimeter.

Before my foot completely made contact with the ground, he gripped it, ready to throw me across the battlefield. "That was a very nice attempt, Yuma."

"Actually, I think my diversion worked perfectly." There was no hiding the smirk on my face. After viewing his interactions with the two other boys, I came to notice he was fighting with obvious tactics.

He stopped Midoriya by blocking his escape route and apprehended Bakugou's hands so he was unable to use his quirk. With that insight--and the thought that he knew my student record-- he would have known I had been in kickboxing; a type of style using the feet as the principal attack and hands as a guard.

The black trail sped out of my fingers in a lightning pattern, trailing a meter away to where All Might stood tall. The floor beneath him transformed slowly from its original dirt to deep mud. His body quickly stuck to the ground making him let go of my foot.

"Ah-- quicksand!" He yelled in recognition.

Lifting myself up quickly, I grabbed the handcuffs and prepared to put them on the so-called-villain. I was able to strap one around the wrist he had in the air yet as I reached for the other, he headbutted me.

I was flown back, hitting the wall behind Bakugou.

Adrenaline took overtaking most of the pain I should have felt. Though the blood dripping down my forehead said otherwise.

"Y/n! Are you okay?" Midoriya yelled out from where he stood. His voice came along with a distant ringing. It buzzed inside my head, disturbing my thoughts.

I had to push through no matter what.

"I'm fine." I insisted, thumbs up yet eyes still closed as a sting ran up the top of my head.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya called to the blonde.

"Outta the way." He sounded tired. Pushing himself out of the boundary he barely had. My eyes opened adjusting to the brightness of the outside. Looking at him, I knew there was a doubt in him that he couldn't take All Might on himself. But for some reason, he wouldn't budge. He wouldn't give up.

I admired that so much about him but it worried me to see how much he wasn't taking care of himself.

"Haven't you been listening to me? It'd be insane to fight him head-on! You just saw what happened to y/n!" He continued.

"Shut up, scum. I'm not her. I will win this." He stomped forward not giving any care to what he had to say. "That's what it means to be a hero, Deku!"

To be a hero.

If you asked each student, their responses would differ. Society itself had its version of what a "Hero" was. Their characteristics personality-wise and physically. What they looked like, sounded like, the quirk of one.

But in a deeper meaning, what did it mean to be a hero.

His meaning was much different between Midoriya and I's.

It's always been.

Lifting myself off the ground, I dusted myself off and quickly rejoined the two. There was definitely stumbling in between.

"At the very least, we should be trying to avoid him!" Midoriya grabbed his arm before being immediately rejected.

"Get your hands offa me." Bakguou demanded. A sigh of annoyance left my nose.

I reached for Bakugou's hand, holding it. He stopped walking. His fingers twitched slowly, tightening around my small ones. I could feel every emotion coming out of him.

It was draining.

"Calm down, okay?" I whispered softly, voice delicate and careful. His touch electrified my system in an abnormal way. It was new yet refreshing.

But this wasn't the time for this.

"Will you listen to me now, Kacchan?" Midoriya groaned behind me.

"Shut up!" Bakugou responded, letting go of my hand. No matter what he did, Midoriya couldn't get through to him.

"Incoming, heroes!" All Might yelled from above us. His figure made an outline in the sun. "I have a special gift for the one who wants to run!"

A hand gripped my forearm, yanking me away from the area.

Midoriya was trapped, a broken piece from a building keeping him stuck to the ground with no escape. All Might took no time to turn to Bakugou and punch him straight into the air from the stomach.

The impact of the hit made him throw up the fluid that stood in his stomach.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya cried out.

All Might took no time to come toward me but my mind filled with worry of getting Midoriya out from under the fence. My eyes shifted between All Might and him but were not given the time of day to react quickly enough.

All Might grabbed my neck, before kicking me in the back. Sounds of cracks popped in my eardrums mixed in with the heavy winds that rang against the buzzing in my mind.

My face collided with the ground, smearing dirt from my knees to my face.

No solid thoughts could fill my mind. Everything was scrambled, compiled into many smaller thoughts that ran by like a tumbleweed in an empty desert.

But that was before I heard a sniff and sobs.

I wanted to move my head. I had to.

He wouldn't ever admit it. But he needed someone.

My arms crawled to the top of my head, digging my nails into the ground as I pushed myself toward him. The back of my neck ached while every breath that was inhaled caused intense stabbing pain. Something was broken but that didn't matter until I got to him.

My fingers reached, much longer than what was possible for myself. I could see his hand in my view, so close yet so physically impossible. He seemed so far yet our distance was near.

I couldn't stand hearing his tears. His pain. His tears were mine and I'd never let him cry alone.

'Bakugou' My mind cried for him, feeling his presence yet no response. I needed to get closer.

"Ugh!" I pulled myself across the ground, pure agony stinging my entire system, the dirt smearing into my open wounds.

He heard me, he knew I was there. Because I saw him reach forward too.

My head dropped to the ground, smashing into the soil. Blindly, my hand searched, looking for the familiar warm hands that made my cold skin not feel so sad.

A finger grazed my wrist, making my body react much quicker than I could process. My hand grabbed his, fingertips locking onto each other.

"I believe in you. You can do it but some things can't be done alone." My voice was quiet enough for the two of us only to hear. "If you stand, I'll be right with you."

His eyes slowly flickered toward me, shining so dully. He took a few seconds to be silent. But I knew he wasn't going to give up.

His fist slammed into the ground in an attempt to lift himself up from the ground. My own hands dig into the ground, using the leftover strength I had to pull myself up.

He was a jerk. An asshole, a narcissist, a hotheaded bitch, an idiot, yet those were the best things about him.

My favorite things about him.

With Ren everything with him was to the book, with no mistakes. He was possibly every girl's dream guy if he wasn't a cheater. The perfect dates, perfect personality, perfect person.

But he made me realize that "perfect" wasn't what I wanted.

I wanted excitement, someone who would tell me how it was without sugar-coating the unnecessary parts. Even if Bakugou pissed me off so bad that I wanted to scream and yell back. He was authentic.

An original.

Even if we didn't win, he won me over without even realizing it.

"Ha! I know why you're so angry, Young Bakugou." All Might emphasized as he walked near us. "Because of Young Midoriya's sudden improvement, right? But you have to remember each of your rankings when the year first began. It's much easier to level up when you're a novice. You're wasting your full potential. Do you see that? Do you understand me?"

Bakugou stood crotched down, hugging his stomach. I stood a meter away, hunched over, too scared to stand all the way up with the fear of cracking bones that weren't meant to bend.

"You still have so much room to grow stronger, boy!" His arms waved out, attempting to be gentle. "And I just don't mean your quirk."

"Shut up, All Might." Bakugou gritted through his teeth venomously. He didn't believe his words. "If I'm so bad that I have to get help from a weakling like him... then I'd rather lose this. Do you hear me?"

I fell forward to the ground, feeling his statement land heavy on my back.

His was so serious, words being deeper than the ocean. Meaning being solder than granite.

"I see. Just remember that's what you said, hero." All Might didn't expect him to respond the way he did. Deep down I know it hurt Midoriya who heard not too far behind us.

All Might's hand cradled into a fist, preparing to take another hit. This was going too far, even if this was an exam.

"Dammit it!" Bakugou starred at the fist that was centimeters away until suddenly, I noticed Midoriya flying toward him.

Everything went in slow motion as Midoiya took the hit from All Might yet took a punch at Bakugou.

"Don't you dare say that you'd rather lose!" He screamed at our teammate. "Let's win this, Kacchan!" Bakugou's body bounced flying in the opposite direction.

I lifted myself off the ground, heading toward Bakugou's limp body. More like I ran-waddled to him.

"I'll get him. Will You be okay?" Midoriya asked as we met in the middle. He grabbed Bakugou, lifting him over his shoulder.

I nodded, clearing my throat before speaking. "Yeah, I'll be fine. We need to go and fast."

We continued to run as I noticed All Might wasn't following us.

The sounds of Midoriya's jumps, my running, and the buzzing in my ears all combined, making my focus feel off-centered.

My view shifted to Bakugou for a second, checking to see how he was doing. His face was pale, most likely from fatigue and throwing up. His face wasn't in a scowl but instead in subtle pain.

Only if he listened to me.

"Drop me, you bastard," Bakugou demanded. My eyes rolled far too heavily.

"I got you." Midoriya insisted, not putting him down.

"I told you to put me down, dammit!" Bakugou continued.

"You shut up for once!" I yelled, scrunching my hands in a claw-like manner. It didn't even matter what I said since Bakugou didn't listen.

He hit Midoriya who, not only fell onto the ground himself, but also dropped Bakugou causing me behind them to trip over the both of them.

They scooted to the opposite ends of the alley we were in as I laid, stomach flat on the floor. Our heavy pants bounced off the walls back down to us.

"Kacchan, I really can't think of a way for us to beat All Might. Y/n was the closest we've gotten but she can't keep risking herself that bad." Midoriya breathlessly tried to explain. "Or to make a clean gateway without him swooping in and stopping us."

"Huh?"

"But before you give up, we can at least try using my power! You can't say you're okay with losing." He argued, not ever leaving his eyes off him. "You're you because you never give in. You're always fighting."

You can see the two fighting against themselves. Their own feelings getting in the way of them ever being real friends.

"'The most amazing hero always wins.' You've been saying those words since we were little kids. How can you give up now?"

An audible yell left Bakugou's mouth as he charged over to Midoriya, slamming his fist into the wall next to his head with a loud explosion.

"Kacchan..." Midoriya cried with fear. I reached out grabbing Bakugou's ankle as a way of telling him to keep his cool.

"I won't say it again, so listen, you useless nerd." He growled, looking down at my dirty hand that held him. "All Might's speed is insane. Wand user here is the only thing closest we got to that. No matter where you try to run and hide, there's no way you'll avoid fighting him." His voice was raspy from the number of times he had screamed.

When do I ever use a wand?

"Yeah, but we don't stand a chance in combat. I mean, you saw him back there!" Midoriya whined.

"Shut the hell up before I kill you!" Bakugou threatened. I could see the rage all over his face. "He won't be stopped by anything less than a full-power attack. I learned that earlier with my mini blasts. So..."

"I can do it." I interrupted, pushing myself to stand again. My hand propped against the wall behind me, using it to hold myself up. "I just need a few free seconds and you two can run."

"No--"

"Bakugou, you look like shit. If this is the only way we can do it then let it be. I can distract him while you two run toward the exit." It was risky, I was fully aware.

But we were all in terrible condition.

"We can combine plans and make that work." Midoriya agreed, nodding his head. We looked at Bakugou waiting for him to be the final deal-breaker.

His tongue clicked, against the back of his teeth with a 'tsk'. "Fine. If it backfires, this is your fault, Deku!"

"Okay, then let's do it." I sighed.

We explained the plan in further detail gaming sure we had every inch of it down. One wrong move and one of us could end up severely injured or worse.

Bakugou left the alleyway, jumping at All Might once we knew where he was.

"You're going the wrong way!"

"That supposed to be a sneak attack?" All Might wondered, turning to face the angry student. Angry was a far below statement for what he felt.

Bakugou sent out a blast directly at his face. They continuously shot out in different directions, placing the attention on himself.

Then it was time. "Deku!" He called, screaming at "the damn nerd".

Midroiya came out from behind All Might with the opposite gauntlet that Bakugou had. The plan was to give him everything we've got, hoping it would be enough. I wouldn't come in until later.

"Shot now!"

"I'm sorry All Might!" Midoriya apologized before pulling the pin from its slot. The explosion echoed blast air everywhere. He stood still looking down at the gauntlet in awe.

"Run, you idiot!" Bakguou scolded, flying past him.

"Oh, right!"

This is where I came in.

As the two made their way to the gate, I warped the reality around All Might, distracting him from ever finding or getting near them. The only worry was the amount of power I had left which I knew was almost reaching empty.

I watched, hiding against the shadows of the buildings. He was sitting on the ground, strangely talking to himself. Don't know what I expected out of him though.

Slowly lifting my palm toward him, I let the gas slow out of my hand and blend in with the debris that already occupied the air. It wasn't the same as the one I'd used at the sports festival.

In order to use it just to slow him down instead of disintegrating his muscle and tissue systems, I focused on thinning it to a mist form with fewer amounts of the original ratio. It would take much longer to work than normally which had been the only downfall.

He got up and began to skip around, looking for the two boys and hopefully forgetting about me. 

I followed through the alleyways, making sure my sprints were as silent as I could make them.

Touching the ground once for every new step, I changed the texture of the ground, the speed at which he ran, and also changed the environment so he had been running in the same areas on repeat with little to no notice.

As I reached down to the floor to change it once more, I noticed he stopped.

"Don't think I have not noticed the same building four times in a row, Young Yuma."

Fuck.

I was screwed.

I hid against the walls, back stiff against it, trying to be as parallel as I could be to it. My eyes look down to the ground, relying on my sense of hearing to give me hints to where he had been walking.

Cleech

Cleech

Cleech

His shoes scraped against the rocks signaling the direction and speed at what he had been walking at. He roamed around the building across from me, taking punches at them until through the mess of the buildings, he was able to find me.

The steps continued along with the punches and breaking buildings until they stopped with a sudden halt.

My breath hitched, too scared to make any sound. But it had been quiet for too long. I peaked my head out onto the main road, noticing it was completely empty.

I began to panic.

Bakugou and Midoriya were relying on me to keep him occupied and away from them so we could win yet I lost the muscle man himself. He couldn't have made to too far though if he were just there.

I decided on staying with the shadows, in the alleyways to stay hidden. Yet as I turned to walk into them, I walked into a wall.

"Lookin' for me?" All Might grinned, looking down at the terror raining on my face. Before letting me react, his speed took over, punching me in the gut where I was sent to the opposite building across from us.

Before colliding with the wall, I warped myself back into the alleyway, appearing behind him.

"You have good control of your power, Young Yuma." All Might applauded. "But how much of it do you have left."

"That's none of your business!" I yelled. Searching for a random object, I grabbed a piece of rock, cupping my hands over its small texture. A black glow emitted from the cracks before appearing as a large metal baton.

I ran toward him, using the baton in one hand and my matter in the other. The baton took the responsibility of providing a distractive attack as my matter attempt to wrap around his body and stop him from moving.

If I did get it around him, I was able to change the reality of it into a chain, allowing us to win the entire exam.

As I went to smack the baton against the back of his head, he grabbed it, holding tight enough to make it difficult for me to move. I grunted, pulling and waving myself in order to loosen the grip but he wouldn't budge.

"You are a strong one for taking this role all on your own. Yet it seems your plan had its flaws." He grabbed the baton, stretching it back as he was ready to throw me meters away.

Before he let go, my black essence wrapped around his ankles taking him with me.

We flew for what felt like ages before I landed in the ground with a boom, creating a crater around the space I was in.

"What the hell?" I heard a voice yell.

Everything was static.

Euphoric as the last bits of my sanity and powers hung on by a thin, stringing thread. My head throbbed, pulsating to the rapid beat that my heart had been pumping too.

Everything was an untouchable dream with little feeling of what was real and what had been an illusion of my mushed mind.

A large blast brought me back to reality, continuing the ringing that had been persistently pushing itself through my ears, vibrating the balls of my eyes.

"Y/n, wake the fuck up! Come on, now!" Bakugou pleaded, fighting the "villain" while attempting to keep an eye on me.

My eyes slowly opened, unwantedly unable to adjust to the brightness of light I never realized shine so bright.

Bakugou was on the ground, stomach first with All Might's foot weighing him down-- that heavy bastard.

"This is over." All Might announced, grinning at his victory.

My eyes connect with his rose-red ones. So vibrant and full of fire. He could see through me, my thoughts, my fading state.

It angered him.

"Shut up!" Bakugou's hand flipped directly up at All Might, glowing before unleashing the biggest explosion his body would allow him. Similar to the one he used at the sports festival.

All Might stood back, readjusting himself to the newfound pain and weakness that was taking over his body not only from Bakugou's blast but the gas that was overtaking his body.

Bakugou stomped to Midoriya, lifting him by the collar with a tight grip. "Get ready to fly."

"Huh?" Midoriya cried, afraid to know what that meant.

"I don't like the idea of running, but with the crapfest, we're in right now, this is the only way to pass the practical," Bakugou explained, getting ready to launch Midoriya.

"Hey, wait! What are..."

"Now, die!" With a large blast, he was able to send Midoriya closer to the gate than we would ever get together. Dust covered the area making it hard to see.

I had to get up and make sure we made it till the end.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before standing. Every bone and joint in my body creaked, cracking like popcorn in a microwave.

"New Hampshire Smash!" All Might launched himself straight backward, straight into Midoriya's back as he was still in the air.

"What the hell are you doing?! Go back on the ground." Bakugou scolded as I sluggishly approached him.

"No, I need to be apart of this." I ignored his yells as I forced myself to run and catch up behind Midoriya.

"Dammit!" He cursed, taking a running start as he flew into the air.

"Come now, you're being too naive, heroes!" All Might rejoiced to himself. Midoriya's body flew, pounding into an empty bus that sat on the side.

"Those gauntlets were only so I could use maximum firepower with no risk." Bakugou went on to explain as he bounced through the air.

"Hm?" All Might turned to see what he had been rambling about.

"But now I see that was stupid. If I don't take any risk, there's no way I can beat you. Right, All Might?" Bakugou asked, his glowing hands together, ready to release another large blast.

I ran below them, watching the orange glow from his hands.

"Midoriya, go!" I scolded, watching him sit on the ground. "We'll handle it, stop watching and go!"

"I can still move better than you. Even if you are learning to use your pathetic power. At least try to make yourself useful, you moron!" Bakugou growled, adding on to my statement. He and All Might fought head to head as I made my way over to help.

It was hurting Bakugou from the amount of strain he was applying to his arms. He wouldn't last any longer.

I ran up, clawing my hands as I did. With the gas in his system, I was still able to contract his muscle to my doings.

"Ahhh!" Bakugou screamed, blasting him from above. I balled my fist watching All Might grab onto his costume for stability.

My hand swung up, sending a strike of the black to All Might's hand nearest to me, attempting to pull him down to the ground. It shattered the way it had with Karasu.

My power was depleting.

Before getting the chance, All Might roundhouse kicked Bakugou in the face, pulling him down to the ground. On his way down he punched my head, bringing me down with them.

"It's time to sleep. Goodnight, Young Bakugou. I'm sorry. I may be the villain, but I'm still your teacher, and it pains me to see you sacrifice your own body in a fight." All Might sighed, looking down at him.

Even with his hand on my face, I forced myself to look over at Bakugou. It tore at me to see him in such a state.

"Hurry up. Go, you damn nerd." He whispered, his hand gripping All Might's wrist. "I'll keep fighting. I'll break myself. Even if there's nothing left of me..." His eyes quickly shifted over to me. "I will win the way I want to. I'll destroy myself before I accept defeat at your hands!"

He was strong.

One of the best people I knew, one of the best I was proud to say I knew. That I cared about. Putting so much effort into an idea, a dream, because he knew he could win. He was stubborn but it was to be expected.

He was going to be that way, regardless of what anyone told him, no matter how many times he was put down.

Black spots showed up in my version yet I tried to push them away the best I could.

"Please get out of the way." Midoriya's voice echoed as he sped to All Might. "Move, All Might!" His fist was electrified sparking the most vibrant green. He took no time connecting it with the Pros face.

He grabbed Bakugou before attempting to help me stand.

"No, give me your hand." I croaked, voice inches away from disappearing. "I have enough to get us across." He nodded and within seconds...

We were across the gate, away from the battlefield that was the practical exam.

\---

"Senya shut the fuck up already. You're worse than my concussion and broken ribs." I groaned. Only if I could make myself pass out on command.

"Not my fault you got your ass kicked." He snickered, sitting on the edge of my bed.

I lifted my singular middle finger from where my hand laid. "You go fight All Might and then I'll go visit you at your grave. I'll even dance over it with joy."

"Now, now, let's calm down you too. Young Yuma, I will heal you once more but your concussion is too severe to be healed. You may feel the effect deplete with time but do not push yourself too much." Recovery girl warned.

"Tell this one that." I pointed to my brother. "He'll forget before I even do." I joked, mocking him. She walked up to my head softly kissing it.

She left cleaning up as Senya continued onto his phone waiting until our mom came to get us. She was not going to enjoy the sight of her crippling daughter hob-woggling over to the car. Even after knowing I had a concussion, he'd still scream at me.

I shifted my head over to the right side. "I'm kinda mad at you but how are you feeling?" I asked Bakugou was had also been treated.

"Shitty." He spat, only starting up at the ceiling.

"Sounds nice, me too." I nodded softly, also looking at the ceiling.

"Y/n, shut up and go to sleep," Senya growled at me, eyes only looking up for a split second, showing frustration.

"I can't," I whined, covering my eyes with my hands to close off any light coming into the room. There was a constant uncomfortable pounding that continued to jam itself into my head. "Where are my glasses?"

"Y/n. You're wearing contacts."

"Oh."

"Do you need me to put you to sleep?" Senya erupted, clearly annoyed with me. He and my mom shared to put people to sleep with one touch. Lucky asses.

"No, I'll be fine. I'll try." Turning to my side, Bakugou and I were facing each other. I closed my eyes matching his sleepy state.

He went unconscious before I had gotten us out of the stage for the test. Recovery girl healed him for the two hours he hadn't woken up and kept an eye on him. Luckily, his injuries weren't permanent but were extreme.

All Might took no mercy over us.

After I got us to the other side of the gate, I lost consciousness. Could have been from my power depleting or the injuries. Probably both. I had little memory of what happened yet there were many things I had been sure of.

One of them being how I felt about him.

'How are ya feeling.' His voice echoed quietly in my head instead of the usual yells. He was being careful, gentle.

'Could be better. How about you?' I wondered, genuinely worried. 'You almost passed out multiple times.'

'Better than before. All Might is strong as shit.' I mentally snickered after hearing him saying that. 

After all, he had been the one who tried to take him on by himself.

'You need to listen to me next time.' I hated how stubborn he was. Strong-minded, thought he knew what was best for himself. Didn't like to bow down to failure.

'Don't start with that crap.' He grumbled, not wanting to admit to his downfall.

'I won't give you a rant because not even I could handle it right now. But honestly... it scared me seeing you so fucked up. Being beat like some kind of rag doll.' I admitted.

There was silence in between. In his bed, he turned, back facing me. My eyes were closed but I knew that's what he did.

'... I was scared for you too.' He mumbled, too scared to admit it himself. 'Don't pull that shit again. Doing things like that alone.'

'It was the only way-'

'Then we'll do it together, got it?' He interrupted, catching me completely off guard.

Together.

Something I hadn't been told by anyone else but my brother. A statement that, in this context, meant more than the world to me.

Fuck that smile for showing up on my face.

'Okay. I got it.'


	22. (21) Mellifluous

———————————————————-——  
I saw  
forever  
when I  
saw him  
\- Ben Maxfield

———————————————————-——  
"E-Everyone..." Mina cried with Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sato at her side. I had been barely walking into class and slowed my speed once noticing their gloominess. "I'm looking forward to hearing all your stories of how fun camp was." She sobbed.

Midoriya and Sero were next to them, attempting to calm their spirits with optimism.

Although it had been a day or two, my head still wasn't back to normal. It wasn't as horrible as it was initially, but there was a strong discomfort that was stabbing my brain.

"Hey," I smiled at Bakugou who had been sitting at his desk on his phone. He was no longer pale and seemed to be in much better condition than before.

How relieving.

"How's that head of yours?" He wondered, leaning over and flicking it. I swatted his hand away, the smirk on his face being as big as ever.

"Fineish. Been sleeping more than usual which I feel is a waste sometimes. I could be doing something else but my body says otherwise." I groaned, hand smashed into my cheek.

"AHHHH!"

I turned around to see Kaminari's fingers gouged into Midoriya's eyes, one finger in each. 

"Well..." I slowly turned back to see Bakugou enjoying Midoriya's pain. "You're so mean to him."

"Would you rather me laugh at your pain or the damn nerd's?" He retorted, eyes lazily glaring toward my direction.

I crossed my arms, pouting as my face looked away from his. "... Him, I guess," I mumbled sheepishly from my resist to admit.

His tongue clicked behind his teeth with a "tsk" sound. "Attagirl." He smirked in satisfaction.

My face frozen, reddening slightly at his comment.

"Once the bell rings you should be in your seats," Aizawa demanded, slamming the door open. Everyone's shoes patted against the ground as they ran to their seats.

After, there had been complete silence.

"Morning. Unfortunately, there are a few of you who did not pass your final exams. So when it comes to the training camp in the woods... Everyone is going!" Aizawa announced, smiling, which had been extremely strange to see.

"It's a last-minute twist!" The nervous-before group yelled.

"Guys, the yelling," I whined, covering my ears to protect my sensitive mind. Recovery girls would ruin me if I worsened my concussion instead of improving it.

"We really get to go to camp?" Kirishima asked, full of extreme excitement.

Mina had tears building up in her eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. The good news is that no one bombed the written exam. Five failed the practical badly. Two teams, of course, and then Sero failed as well." Aizawa explained, back to his monotoned expressions.

"Aw! Crap, I knew it." Sero sighed, his hand slapping to his forehead. "Mineta made it to the gate, but I didn't do near enough to pass."

"Allow me to explain." Aizawa continued. "For the practical battles, the teachers made sure to leave a way for the students to win. Otherwise, you never would have stood a chance. We were interested in observing how you each worked together and approached the task at hand."

"But didn't you promise that the teachers wouldn't be holding back?" Ojiro wondered, recalling the moment Aizawa explained the exam information.

"That was just to get you on edge. Besides, the training camp will focus on building your strength. Those who failed need those lessons the most. We were never going to separate you." Then his unusual grin came back. "That was just a logical deception we used."

"A logical deception?!" The group cried again.

I hadn't been surprised yet I also felt All Might didn't hold back at all. He treated us like dummies in a karate class. Honestly surprised we didn't die.

'A karate class? What the hell?' Bakugou questioned, making fun of my thoughts. I looked toward him and glared.

'Leave my way of thinking alone. You're the one that thinks in a video game.'

"Mr. Aizawa, this is the second time you've lied to us." Iida pointed out, jumping out of his seat, hand stiffed into the air. The usual for him. "Aren't you afraid we'll lose faith in you?"

"Uh, a little blunt there, Tenya," Ochaco mumbled to him.

"That's a good point. I'll consider it." Aizawa shrugged, brushing it off. "But I wasn't lying to you about everything. Failure is failure."

I muffled my laugh with my arm once I saw the stiff frozen faces of the group who before was cheering.

"We've prepared extra lessons for the five of you. Frankly, they'll be far tougher than what you'd face at summer school."

After his spiel about the exams and camp, he passed around the Training Camp Guide to each of us. It had a detailed explanation of what it would be like.

"A full week at the camp." I read aloud with the booklet open in my hands.

"Yeah, sounds insane," Kirishima commented.

"I wonder what exactly we'll be doing." I closed the book looking back at Bakugou. "What do you think, Bakugou?"

"I don't care." He grumbled, waiting for me so we could leave.

"Grumpypants," I whispered. I got up, getting my things together. On purposely, I took my time knowing it would upset him.

"Guys, since we're off tomorrow and we finally finished exams, I have the best idea! Why doesn't Class 1-A go shopping together!" Hakagure bubbled up. I could only imagine her grinning.

"Hey, yeah! We've never hung out as a class before." Kaminari agreed.

"Let's go." Bakugou grabbed my hand, roughly pulling me outside the room.

"Bakugou. See you there, right?" Kirishima called out to him, full face smiling.

"I can't think of anything more annoying." He complained, still holding onto my hand. We walked out of the class and into the empty halls to the parking lot where my brother was waiting.

My bag slid down my shoulder when he pulled me but I couldn't fix it since he was holding my hand still. "You know, you and I are going tomorrow, right?" I queried.

"You must think you're a fucking comedian. I'm not spending an entire day with those losers." He mocked. Looking over his shoulder, he saw my bag slipping and let go of my hand.

"Fine, then we could go ourselves." I thought, going through many ideas in my head. He let out a heavy sigh. "C'mon~ we're gonna be at camp and who knows what Aizawa has planned. It'll be fun! I'll make sure we avoid them."

"Will you stop nagging so damn much if I say yes?" He murmured, slouching forward with defeat.

"Yup! Don't sound all pissed, I know you like spending time with me." I cheesed, teasing him jokingly.

"Whatever. Could we go somewhere else instead of that damn mall? Too many annoying people." He rambled on. My brother's car came into view.

"Sure, you pick or me?" I wondered, secretly being way more excited than I should have been.

"You. Don't make me regret that." He threatened, lifting the trunk door as my brother opened it for us.

"At least have some faith in me, jeez."

(On the Spotify play: At my worst and Down to earth or just any non sad song)

"Keep your eyes close."

"Your hands are already fucking covering them and you're telling me to keep them closed?!" He repeated, his hands holding my wrist that came from behind him. I was on my tippy toes in order to wrap them all the way around.

My brother just dropped us after Bakugou spent an hour watching me attempt to get ready in less than an hour.

He was asking me questions as to what I was putting on my face and got frustrated when I had no idea what to wear.

Flashback to that*

"How about these jeans?" I lifted a pair that was on the ground, turning to him for an opinion.

He looked up from his phone, before looking back down. "No."

I glared at him before throwing them back on the ground. They were the third pair of bottoms I had grabbed and he had been rejecting all of them with no reason why.

The guy was cute but made things so much difficult than they needed to be.

"You know what- you come pick for me," I grumbled, arms folding against my chest as I went to switch places with him. He rolled his eyes before getting up and walking to my closet and dresser.

I watched him amusingly as he went through the different clothes I had.

He had always been calmer around me, less rabid than he had acted around others in public. After the exam, he definitely showed a difference.

Not a bad one.

But one that made me want to be around him all the time. Want to make him laugh and smile because seeing it was such a blessing that sent butterflies bursting through my system. And for some reason...

I just knew he felt them too.

"There, now get dressed so we could fucking go already. Shitty girl..." He mumbled, leaving my room, throwing the outfit on my bed.

I leaned forward crawling to it. Can't lie, I was pleasantly surprised.

Maybe he grabbed everything randomly, but it had been my black ribbed tank top with some loose stripped dark navy pants and a black belt with multiple silver belt holes. Once putting it on, I searched my draws for a choker and slipped on black boots under the pants. (an: if you need a visual, message me)

There were things in me that I noticed I started to care more about; the way I looked or smell. He brought out the best in me.

"Okay, let's go." I sighed, opening the door to where he stood outside. He had been wearing black jeans and a gray shirt. Casual yet it fit him.

"Huh?" He looked from his phone, eyes freezing on me. They raked up and down my body, view the outfit he selected for me. His face slowly contorted to a smirk. "I did a good fucking job."

"And I'm the one wearing it so thank you for calling me hot. Let's go." I joked, grabbing his hand and dragging him to my brother's car.

End of flashback*

I took my hands off his eyes, letting his eyes adjust to the light in the building we were in.

"A bowling alley?" He wondered, looking at the many people who were laughing and enjoying themselves.

"Yeah, I thought it would be interesting since both of us are kind of competitive. And you could be loud without being stared at weirdly." I smiled, walking in front of him.

He looked around more, eyes flashed neon colors of pink and green from the lights behind me. I was beginning to worry that he didn't like it but...

"Get ready to have your ass wiped, I'm a fucking god at bowling." He smirked, looking down at me with mischievousness and cockiness.

"You say that every time and each time I have to break your heart by watching you lose." I shook my head, sighing dramatically.

"Tch, in your dreams." He mocked, slightly lighting at my terrible acting.

"Literally, now let's go pay and get shoes." I pulled his arm, dragging him behind me as we went.

Poor lady charging us had to stand there watching him and I go back and forth about who was going to pay. The sad part was that SHE had been the one to suggest we split the amount.

After that, we went to grab our shoes and went to the lane we paid for. As we walked, I looked at everything around us.

There were happy people; families, friends, couples, even a person on their own. Pangs echoed with the crashing sound of pins being knocked down. Others laughed, wiping beads of sweat from their foreheads while some groaned over their loss. The energy in the place was everything but down.

"You first or me?" I asked, standing at the control panel where our names would be put in.

"Me." He replied, still slipping on his shoe.

"What name do you want? Wait— never-mind I'll do it." I grinned right as the idea flew into my mind. The buttons beeped under my fingers with each other I pressed.

He was going to kill me but it was going for my own enjoyment.

I looked up at the screen, check if I spell it correctly as to how I wanted it.

Player 1: Thotsuki

"Huh! What the fuck." His eyebrows furrowed at the screen then back to me. "Fine, I got this." He got up walking toward me.

But instead of pushing me aside, he stood behind me, arms coming from either side of me, his head almost rested directly on my shoulder as he typed.

My heart raced as my breath became thinner. I tried not to make it obvious but he had been so close that it made it difficult.

His warmth comforted the constant cold I was always in.

"There." He grinned, looking at the screen.

Player 2: Maleficent broom bitch

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't use a broom?!" I groaned frustratedly, pushing him off my back to grab a ball.

"Not enough cause it won't work." He shrugged, grabbing his ball from behind me.

I sat down with the ball on my lap as he walked to the front of the lane since being the first one to go.

"Let's make a bet. Winner gets whatever they want." I thought, knowing this could easily backfire on me. I could so easily win against Senya but that was because he just was horrible at everything.

"A bet?" He thought aloud, thinking about it. "Alright, fine." He smirked, focusing back on the game at hand. The ball stood to his side, eyes stuck on the pins at the end.

He seemed to be analyzing it.

"DIE!" He screamed, his arm thrown back as he ran full speed, letting it go at the last second.

The ball sped, much faster than it should have, bouncing when it first hit the ground until it came to the end where all pins fell.

"You need help." I laughed, getting up as he passed me. On purpose, his shoulder knocked against mine, setting the subtly aggressive competitiveness between the two of us. "But challenge accepted."

Ball in hand, I walked to the front of the lane, lasering my focus down onto getting my throw perfect.

If I didn't knock all the pins down the first try, not only I completely make an idiot of myself, Bakugou's ego would be boosted to its maximum.

Bringing the ball close to my face, I took a quick breath, feeling it bounce back to my lips, before swinging my arm back and letting go of the ball.

It ran down the lane perfectly going straight until at the last minute, it swerved. My hand reached to my head, gripping my hair as all the pins fell.

But one.

"Ugh!" I groaned, pulling the roots on my head tightly. Turning on my heels, I came to face an overly happy Bakugou who always enjoyed seeing me in struggle. I stomped back to the seat next to him as he watched. "Just say it already, make fun of me."

"You suck." He snickered, getting up as I sat down.

"Stop being good at something for once. I need to feel achieved at something you don't." I crossed my arms against my chest.

"Not my fault everyone is bad at everything." He gave me a thumbs down before turning back around. "Besides..." The ball left his grip, rolling down and once again knocking down all the pins. "You're not bad at that kickboxing shit."

We switched places, with him sitting back down. "That's like the only thing I'm good at. But I'm okay with that though because I think it's cool." I smiled, hyping myself up.

When walking to the lane, I stood a few feet back to have enough walking space. I wanted to get a better force on the ball and hopefully knock down all the pins.

I took another deep breath before running up and letting go of the ball. When letting go, the force of the ball pushed me with it, causing my foot to pass the line of where not to step.

My shoes slid from the heavy wax as I fell onto the bowling lane.

As an immediate reaction, I bursted out laughing, holding my head that bounced against the side gutters. People around us watched, curious as to if I were okay but also concerned with my loud laughter.

"Fucking dumbass!" Bakugou cursed, running up to me. "Give me your hand." His hand reached down for mine. As he pulled me up, his foot slid sending us back down on the ground with a thud louder than the bowling balls.

"I can't breathe--" I spat between my heavy laughs. My face had been beginning to fluster as the unintentional watering of my eyes began.

"Look what you did!" He berated, frustrated as always.

He was going to continue to scold me for my idiotic actions until his eyes hyper-focused on my body next to his, still in the constant state of snorting chuckles. His eyes admired me as the neon lights above us flashed down, complimenting the features that he hadn't noticed before.

He couldn't be mad. Because he loved that smile so much.

"I'm sorry, but this is just too funny to me." I coughed up, regaining my breath. My head turned, facing his.

He was smiling, our noses barely touching, ticking each other from the delicate touch. Warmth breaths bounced off each other, shallow and light, almost careful.

His skin was smooth, even, and without imperfections on it. His hair was so silky spiked in all the right ways and places.

He was beautiful.

"Um..." I trailed off, eyes never leaving his. My mind blanked, unable to form sentences. "W-We should get up."

He blinked multiple times, pushing himself out of the daze he was in. Before clearing his throat, he carefully pushed himself up from the ground, reaching both hands down so we wouldn't fall again like before.

Once standing up, I turned back to the screen to see how I did.

"What the fuck." I whined, smacking my fist against the control panel, holding it after from pain. "I got one pin."

"You fell onto the lane and ate shit, that's why." He mocked, rolling his eyes at me as he took his turn. Once again, he managed to get another strike while I struggled more than I should have.

We continued the rest of the game with the obvious loser being me. No matter how I had thrown the ball I could not get a single strike for the life of me.

In the end, Bakugou won.

"You won. What do you want." I mumbled, hugging myself as we walked to the food court above us. I was scared he'd want something crazy, insane since that's exactly what he was.

He shrugged looking back down at me. "Nothing."

"Nothing?!" I repeated, unsure if I had heard correctly.

"Are you deaf? Damn, yes, that's what I said." He snapped, looking down at me with irritation.

"I went through all that for nothing." I sighed, running my hand down my face. "You better think of something." I threatened.

"Fine, whatever. Go find somewhere to sit." He directed me, his head jerking in the direction of the seats. "Pizza fine?"

"Yeah, that's good." I turned, walking out of the line. As I walked to an empty seat, I couldn't help but think about earlier.

How close our faces had been, only inches away from full contact. His eyes so dreamily faded into mine, glowing against the lights that were amplifying the red in his.

So close to kissing yet not fully committed to the idea.

I hated that he was the only thing I could think about. One of the only things besides my family that I worried about.

I still had something else in my mind that we needed to talk about.

"Hey!" Bakugou yelled, catching my attention back from my daydream. He had the pan of pizza in one hand, paper plates under, with two drinks tucked against his chest tightly.

"Why didn't you call me over for help?"I blurted, quickly getting up from my seat to help him.

"I thought your head might have been hurtin' from when you fell, idiot." He mocked, putting the pizza down on the stand designated for it.

"That would have been sweet if you didn't call me an idiot at the end." I huffed, moving everything around on the table in order to create more space.

"Just shut up and eat already." He barked, angrily biting the pizza slice in his hand.

"So angry and for no reason," I mumbled under my breath. I sat down, grabbing a plate and a slice. Looking up, I couldn't help but mentally laugh at his face as he ate.

As we ate, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Usually, I'd keep the sound on but I didn't want to ruin our time together with a loud ding.

New Message  
Floating Kirby  
How are you guys? The entire mall just shut down! A villain came and threatened Deku.  
Read at 5:36 pm

"The mall just got shut down," I told Bakugou as I responded back to Ochaco.

"Huh? Why?" Bakugou asked threw the chews of his food. I blindly reached for another slice while I typed. Bakugou placed it in my hand for me.

"I guess a villain went and they reported it," I explained, putting my phone down next to me. On purposely, I left out the fact that it happened to Midoriya. I didn't want to hear him nagging about how "the damn nerd deserves it."

"Sucks for them."

I smiled, folding my hands on the side of my face. "Does that mean you're actually having fun with me?"

His face froze, nervous, definitely caught redhanded. "Shut up."

"Aww, how surprising. Don't worry, I guess I like being around you also." I teasingly joked, rolling my eyes playfully.

"If only you hadn't made us fall." He mumbled, scoffing at the end.

"Actually, I fell, you tried to help, and then you slipped too." I corrected, taking a sip of my drink. I knew he thought it was funny, there was no way he couldn't.

It was intimate yet memorable.

"That floor was slippery as shit, who fucking knew." He laughed slightly, thinking back to the moment. His chuckles were music to my ears.

"You know, I'll still kinda mad at you from the exam." I brought up, knowing so easily that it was upset him.

"That shit again?" He sighed as frustrated as I predicted.

"Yes 'that shit again'. I just think you could have handled the situation a bit better. We could have all ended worse than we were." I explained, trying to get him to understand. He wouldn't listen of course, but it was just something that needed to be talked about.

"Yeah, I know." He mumbled almost inaudible. "Don't ever ask me to work with Deku ever again."

"I won't, I promise." I meant it. Knowing from experience that it wasn't the best feeling to know you had to throw yourself to what felt like what you were less than. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For putting you in a situation where you didn't feel like enough." My eyes were looking down, away from him. Too guilty to do so. "Because you're more than enough."

He stood quiet, perhaps taken back from what I told him. But it had only been the truth.

When we were at the exam, I only saw the pain in him. Thoughts of doubt, self-doubt. Feelings of not being enough for what you wanted for yourself.

He held himself at such a high expectation, more than anyone held on him, but he had done it because it was what he knew best. Coming from a place where everyone praised him.

It was just the norm for him.

"Take your own advice." He finally said after the silence. "You do the same thing. Just do it differently." His arms were crossed, flat on the table.

"What do you mean?" I was curious. My brother always pointed out the things I had done but that was because he was my brother. Bakugou wasn't anything like that to me.

"That shit you do. Yelling at yourself for not doing things the way you wanted. You got skill, lots of it. You just doubt yourself so damn much that you start to forget you do." He looked straight at me the entire time, eyes never leaving mine.

It was comforting yet unsettling how much he knew me, understood me.

"Thanks. I guess we have our things we both need to work on." I shrugged, unsure of what else to say in the situation.

"Fuck yeah. But we'll make it out at the top. Show All Might what he messed with." He smirked, oh-so-perfectly. A smile itched itself on my own face as I nodded in response.

"You wanna stay here, go back to my place, or have my brother drive you home?" I wondered, gathering all of our trash together, throwing it away in the can behind me.

Part of me truly hoped he'd say come back to my house but he was an unpredictable person.

He was on his phone typing away aggressively to someone. "My old hag is yellin' at me about some shit. Could Senya drop me off?"

And there go my hopes, breaking down sadly.

"Yeah, of course." I sighed, pulling out my phone, ignoring the other notifications that crowded my screen.

New Message  
Y/n  
Come get us.  
Read at 6:10 pm

New Message  
Big Toe  
Outside already.  
Read at 6:11 pm

"He's outside already. Let's go." I stood up making sure I had everything I brought with me. He got up, following me through the alley to the outside.

It was quiet as we walked. Just the sounds of the light music, distancing with each step we took away from the bowling lanes. My hands dropped from where they were, hugging myself as an imaginary warmth blanket.

Bakugou's hand brushed against mine, startling me from the sudden contact.

"I had fun today." I bubbled up, attempting not to be awkward.

He looked down at me as we walked, smiling the slightest bit. "Me too, wand wielder."

"I don't use a fucking wand!"

"Don't fucking hit me, shitty witch!"


	23. (22) Selcouth

it's as if every

atom in my body

gravitates towards you

\- uhnsaids

\-----------  
"Hey! Sorry I'm late. Brother decided to take forever waking up this morning." I sighed, feeling both frustrated and embarrassed with myself. As I walked over to the girls, I noticed the boys had also been stretching on the opposite side.

My eyes looked for him.

"Don't worry. We had only begun stretching if you'd like to join us." Momo offered, her arm outstretched over her head as they stood in a line, evenly spaced. The others smiled and waved as I walked over.

"I think I'll be okay. My head has been hurting a bit since I hit it again recently." I sat down, crisscrossed near the edge of the pool. "Since when did the boys invite themselves?" I wondered.

"We're not sure actually," Ochaco answered honestly, shrugging her shoulders lightly.

"We were just wondering the same thing," Jirou added, rolling out her wrist. I hummed in curiously, lifting my phone close to my face.

New message  
Y/n  
Candlestick, you coming today?  
Sent 12:38 pm

I saw him only a few days ago yet it felt like longer. Parts of me missed his asshole attitude and somewhat attempted nice comments.

How gross.

"Y/n, come referee our game for us!? We feel terrible that you can't play but want you to be included!" Mina shouted, waving me over. Her shining personality never failed to make me smile. I didn't believe anything could make that girl lose her spark.

I smiled, nodding my head. "For you guys, of course." I made sure to grab my phone but set it far enough to where it wouldn't get wet. I noticed their towels folded so my phone sat right on top.

I walked back over, taking hold of the inflated ball from Momo's hand. Finding that they were near the stairs, I walked down a few sitting partially in the water but not fully.

Seeing us all here without having to worry about exams or class was relieving. So much had been in my mind already.

"Okay...3...2...1!" I exclaimed, throwing the ball in the air as their excitement levels skyrocketed uplifting mine within seconds. I enjoyed this. Wished for more moments like this yet knew they were rare and difficult to come by with all the hero studies.

As I watched them, I also took a look at the boys, recognizing everyone's growth over time.

Moving back to Musutafu was possibly the best thing that could have happened to me. Meeting new people, figuring myself out further, making friends I'd never think to have, that all started because of moving back.

Yeah, there had been ups and downs, possibly more downs, but isn't that what life was about? It's good times and bad, the strength and sorrow, the balance of the pendulum. If there was too much good in anything then what was the point. What was life without a little spice?

And him.

Maybe he was the spice.

He came into my life like it was his and I was the background character shining in his light. Before I found him so annoying, and still do, but now with just more appreciation. With more meaning. Confessing my feelings was the nerve-racking part yet...

I knew I'd be fine.

It hadn't been that I was afraid of rejection because I knew that was least likely to happen. There was just fear. The fear that my dad would come back and put him in danger. The fear that once again, I'd have him taken from me.

Donk

My eyes sped in the direction of where the ball came from before it hit my head. My brain cells are going to be negative after all the hits I had been taking. "Who threw the ball at me?"

They smiled, looking away from me as they held in the laughs that much neededly wanted to burst out.

"PSH- okay, fine it was me!" Mina shouted, cracking into a fit of laughter. The rest of the girls followed their laughs echoing in the distance. I couldn't help but have my own furrowed face relax and join them.

"Very funny." I smiled, shaking my head at them.

"We're sorry. We just couldn't stop laughing at how focused you were on the water while daydreaming. It's like you were having a staring contest with it." Jirou smothered out, the others agreeing with her.

"I daydream a lot, okay." I defended in an effort to stay serious yet failed. "Does my face look bad when I daydream?" I rapidly asked, turning concerned if I had Kaminari's dunce face.

"No!"

"Definitely not."

"Ribbit, I don't think so."

They each got out of the pool, Jirou helping me up as they did. I walked back to my phone, noticing there was no notification.

"Y/n, come on! We're going to see what the boys are up to. They just finished their workouts." Ochaco jumped up next to me, urging me to go with her.

"They've been at it the entire time." I brought up as we walked over in a group. While the girls had been playing, I snuck a few gazes toward them to notice that they were strictly sticking to endurance workouts.

Sounded like a pain.

"Glad we didn't do that," Jirou mumbled as she walked next to me.

Walking over, I could so easily recognize that blonde spiked hair in the distance with those evil angled eyes heading straight toward Midoriya.

No surprise there.

"Why don't you let us help you out with this?" Momo offered to Iida as he announced their race. I walked away from their group to Kirishima and Bakugou.

"Hey, Yuma!" Kirishima greeted, giving me a small wave.

"Hey, you guys took a while," I noted, crossing my arms as Bakugou was too invested in Iida allowing Quirks to the races.

"Yeah. Bakugou had a hard time leaving his place so I basically had to drag him here." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck while subtly looking at the overexcited teen.

"Expected from the idiot himself."

"Who are you calling an idiot, you better take that back!" Bakugou shouted at me, his mood changing from competitive to agitated with me in seconds.

He stood tall over me, angrily looking down. My eyes were so ready to roll the other direction. But that was until I came to the realization that he was shirtless.

Completely bare chest.

Maybe it was way too obvious but my eyes had the time of their lives looking at the abs that I was aware he had but didn't pay much attention to until now. He built like a wall, a brick one of course.

"That's it." I heard him say but it had been too late. He grabbed my waist, lifting me over his shoulder with me punching and kicking continuously.

"Put me down!" I demanded, blindly kicking.

"Fucking bitch-- you kicked me in the face!" He screamed, still not putting me down. Before giving me the chance to speak, my body was thrown from over his shoulder down into the pool.

Before he had the chance to leave, I grabbed his ankle, making him slip and tumbled back into the pool, his torso still being dry.

"Bakugou down!" Kaminari announced making the rest of the class laugh.

"Why did you throw me in the pool you asshole!" I yelled, laughing at the end of my sentence. It was funny yet I wanted to be mad at him.

"You weren't paying attention to me!" He argued back to participate in the race. He swam to the edge of the pool pulling himself up so uncharacteristically graceful.

Damn him.

"Hey, no. Come help me!" I yelled as he tried to walk away from me. He exaggeratedly sighed before stomping back to me and lending out his hand.

"C'mon hurry up." He mumbled, his eyes looking away from me. I grabbed his hand as he pulled me up. I stumbled slightly, bumping into his chest. Out of reaction, he caught me, making sure I didn't fall back in.

I looked up, straight into his eyes. The same ones that somehow knew how to pull me in without trying. My hands sat on his chest, gently and unintentionally feeling his abs from underneath.

My chest had been pounding so hard, I hadn't been sure if it were my heart or sonic the hedgehog stuck in there.

"Bakugou man!" Kirishima called from behind us in the distance.

I pushed myself off him walking away to the girls.

My face was so warm, I could only imagine the amount of tomato I looked like at the moment.

He stood paused for a moment watching me walk away before turning around and going to Midoriya and Todoroki.

"Hi." I greeted the girls as I walked back. I knew they saw the entire thing, everyone did. I was hoping that they didn't especially see the last part.

"Seems like your getting comfortable with someone." Mina teased, nudging my side.

"Shut up, it's nothing." It was something.

"Liar! But whatever you say!" She laughed, seeing right through my lie.

It was new to me after being in a relationship for so long. I felt like some elementary school kid getting shy around their crush.

"All right, now, everyone, on your marks! Get set!" Momo blew the whistle, letting the boys know it was their time to jump off.

I watched as each one-hopped off the diving boards into the water. All of them expect Bakugou.

He jumped into the air using his quirk to send him flying to the other end of the poolside. "Burst Speed Turbo!" He screamed as he did. "How was that, you sidekicks?"

"What do you think you're doing?" Sero cried, pointing to him.

"You didn't even touch the water!" Kirishima added also.

Small baby explosions appeared from Bakugou's clawed hands. "It's called freestyle swimming!"

It was annoying how good he was at everything. I hated it yet liked it at the same time.

The next group was up which Todoroki was an obvious winner of. He used his ice quirk to let him slide across the water swiftly with no extra effort needed.

Oh to be as graceful as him.

The others yelled at him also about not truly swimming yet I personally couldn't be mad. If it were me in their place, I would have just warped myself to the other side of the pool.

"Last group, on your marks. Get set!" Momo called to the boys. She blew the whistle letting them jet off into the water.

It was going to be a normal swim race until Iida decided to use his speed to zoom across the pool lane separators to glide across.

He and Midoriya were head to head, going faster than I could ever imagine swimming until, in the end, Midoriya had been the winner.

"You gonna take a turn." Bakugou challenged as he appeared next to me.

"Against you? No, sorry, but I don't want to make you cry." I joked, smirking at my comment.

"Keep thinking that." He scoffed, walking away again.

It was funny.

A few months ago, I had no idea who he was besides knowing he was the jerk I sat next to in class. If it hadn't been for the sports festival, he and I would most likely not be as close as we are currently.

But then again, I found that hard to believe.

"It's time for the final race," Iida announced. "Bakugou. Todoroki. Midoriya. As the winners of each heat, you'll fight for the first place. Understand?" He confirmed.

"Got it."

"Yes."

"Listen up, Scarface." Bakugou bubbled up. My hand smacked against my mouth much louder than I intended it to as I had second-hand embarrassment from his rude nickname. "Don't you dare hold back like you did at the sports festival. Bring everything you've got!"

"I will." Todoroki nodded, agreeing with him.

"You, too. Fight to win." Bakugou motioned to Midoriya next to him.

"Yeah! I will. I promise." Midoriya swore.

We all gathered around together to watch since it had been between the top three students in our class, athletically.

"Then the 50-meter freestyle final race will now begin!" Iida announced. A series of cheers went out to each of our classmates, wishing them each the best. "Now, on your marks. Get set!"

The whistle blew letting them know it was time.

All of us eagerly waiting, watching them jump off. Yet when they did, they crashed into the water, yelping as they did.

"What happened?" Kaminari thought aloud.

"Why aren't they using their Quirks?" Sero whined, a bead of sweat coming from his face.

"It's 5 pm," Aizawa announced, coming for the building next to us. His eyes were red which signaled the use of his quirk. "Your authorized pool time is officially over. Hurry up and go home."

"We were finally getting to the good part!" Sero groaned, pointing to the three in the water.

"Are you questioning me?" Aizawa snapped, frowning at the tape student.

"Not at all, Mr. Aizawa!"

Everyone got their things together quickly running to the locker rooms to take a shower and leave.

I headed toward the pool to help Bakugou out of the water. He was swimming to the edge ready to pull himself up.

Bending my knees lower, my hand reached out. "Come on, I'll help you."

"I don't need your damn help." He ridiculed, slapping my hand away.

"Stop being pissy- Just give me your stupid hand." I shoved it closer to his face, annoyed with his god-complex attitude; Always thought he didn't need help or didn't want to be offered help.

"Tch." He looked away, taking my hand in his. I attempted to pull him up although he was heavy as shit.

He gripped my hand tighter pulling me down into the water with him.

A small yell escaped my lip behind the slops of water that splash into the air and the ground where I previously stood.

He went under the water with me, putting a single finger over his mouth as a silent way of telling me to keep quiet or in his words 'shut up'.

Grabbing my arm, he pulled me to the wall of the pool, bringing us back to the surface.

"Bakugou, what the fu--" His hand flew over my mouth stopping me mid-sentence. Faint footsteps echoed behind us, pounding more intensely than they would usually since we were at level with the ground.

"Hmm." Just by that, I knew it was Aizawa. We were supposed to be getting cleaned up to go home yet here was Bakugou and I, still in the pool. If he were to catch us, we were more than just dead.

His steps distance after his quick inspection of the area.

I bit Bakugou's hand making him flinch it away. "Bitch, that hurt!" He shook his hand, looking at the newly pronounced indents on his finger.

"Why did you pull me in?! I was trying to get you out!" I barked, swimming across from him.

(AN: Listen to 'Close' on the Spotify playlist hehe)

"I didn't wanna go yet." He shrugged, his arms propped on the walls of the pool, facing me.

My arms waved out, splashing bits of water toward him. "You could have told me that using, I dunno, your WORDS." Had I been annoyed with his child-like actions? Yes, no doubt. Yet again, I had been happy that he wanted me to stay.

He splashed water back at me, wetting my face, sending a cold shock through my body from the temperature.

"Real mature." I mocked, throwing water back before swimming to the middle of the pool.

"Hear that?" He asked. I stood quietly waiting for something to happen.

"Hear what?"

"Exactly, now shut up and enjoy the quiet without those damn extras." He deadpanned. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the ledge behind him.

I don't understand how the loudest person I know was also the quietest at this moment.

I stopped in the middle of the pool, looking at the small waves I had been creating.

Everything was peaceful.

The water hugged me, shielding me from the outside temperature. Something about it was safe, comforting.

Bakugou was enjoying the same factors. His face was calm, no creasing in his expressions. His hair stuck to his forehead, droplets rained down creating trails all the way down to his chest. It was messy yet it worked for him.

No effort needed.

His eyes opened slightly, enough to let me slip a quick glance. "What are you staring at?" His voice was husk, deep with rasp.

"Admiring the view."

It was blunt, risky. But it was the truth. Something I'd regret later but now didn't mind admitting. He was the view and with that it was perfect.

His face stood static until slightly smirking. Looking down, he avoided eye contact with me. I swam over to him stopping right in front.

My head leaned down, connecting my eyes with his. Something in that moment took over me. A rush, a feeling so strong, I couldn't think before I did it.

Our face grew closer and closer to more I leaned in until my lips connected with the corner of his, teasing the kiss from happening fully.

It caught him off guard, he didn't expect it but it was as if he wanted it to happen when his lips parted open expecting mine to match. There was much dissatisfaction when realizing I only met the side of his.

I pulled back slowly, his eyes already waiting for mine to meet.

There was a fire in them, a hard resistance he was putting on himself from breaking every promise and threat he had made with himself about getting distracted during his hero studies.

His worries only consisted of being the number one hero, no other thoughts. Occasionally he'd worry about other things like hunger or maybe even his 'lame' friends. But that was until I came. His path made a detour, thoughts switched around.

He looked for the little things I did, care about me more than he thought he would. Sure, I pissed him off and he thought of throwing me across the room a few times, but he'd never do it.

And that bothered him.

"You can't do that." He whispered, voice light as his hands slowly made their way up to my waist.

"Why not? I don't see any rules saying I can't." My voice matched his with more tease in it. These feelings were so strong. They were eating me up from the inside. "Give it time."

"What if I don't wanna?" He pulled me toward him, my hands on top of his shoulders, gripping them firmly. Our chest rose and fell with each other although there hadn't been anything to make us breathless.

We had the same effect on each other.

"I don't know." I didn't want to mess this up. I wanted to kiss him, I did. My entire life was built off of pain and regret and I didn't want to regret him even though I know I wouldn't.

Had it been too fast for me to move on? Maybe, perhaps it was. But I didn't care anymore. The feelings for him were real, too strong. Two magnets that would attract each other no matter the distance between them.

I wanted him.

"Remember that bet I won?" He recalled, fingers delicately circling over my hips. He had to stop himself from just in that moment risking it all.

"Yeah..." I nodded lightly, fingers crawling around his body.

He took a moment, thought about what he wanted to say before saying it.

The fear he had never felt before until now was shaking his system. Slight worry filled him as he looked directly into my eyes, knowing what he was about to say was what he truly wanted. Needed for that matter.

Falling in love with someone also meant having the fear of losing them. But he was willing to take the risk for me again if it meant having me all to himself like he always wanted.

"Kiss me."


	24. (23) Opia

PLEASE READ:

This chapter will NOT have many details of their kiss from the last chapter. I made this decision last minute because as the author, I don't feel uncomfortable posting smut and topics like that to VERY YOUNG readers (some readers I have are 10-13). There are still small details but the very descriptive and NSFW (not safe for work) scenes are in my Patreon for $3. I hope you are able to understand and aren't upset! Thank you to everyone who has joined Patreon!

Patreon is 3 chapters ahead (soon 4), has 2 (soon 3) more character explanations, and soon will be getting more NSFW content. They will also be the first to get the new book's chapter when I am done with this one.

Also, y/n now has her own playlist on my Spotify along with a playlist made for reading/writing/studying. The link is in my bio along with the discord server.

So sorry if I'm not being active rn, I'm having some problems with mental health (anxiety, stress, paranoia, pstd, etc. I'm okay with saying it publicly so others with the same know they aren't alone) and have been trying to get myself back up to speed. Still love you very very much, thank you for everything you've done for me!

-Rina <3

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cold as ice

but in her hands

he melts

\- Me! (Rina) lol

Italics= flashback unless it has ' around it  
Italics= flashback unless it has ' around it.

"Good morning y/n! Are you excited to go?"

I stared at Mina with the deep-set bags of the tiredness that ran through my entire body. Her energy was great, truly heartwarming, but the time of the morning and loud yells and laughs of everyone made me wanna wrap the blanket around me tighter until I was in a cocoon.

"I'm excited to possibly sleep on the bus and read if that's what you mean." I retorted, voice raspy from the early morning hour.

"C'mon! It's gonna be a blast!" Mina insisted, hugging me and shaking my blanket-covered body. My eyes stood staring into the sky above us as her shaking intensified.

"Careful, Mina. I think Yuma is not a morning person." Kirishima laughed, looking at my flat bitch face.

"Hey! Look there's Kami and Bakugou, guys come here!" Mina pointed over to the two waving for the two to come over. My eyes widened slightly, pulling the blanket from off my head to around my shoulders.

"Hey, guys!" Kaminari greeted, Bakugou by his side. My eyes hesitantly looked up to the blonde, thin breath coming from my mouth. My eyes connect with his freezing on them.

His arms snaked around my body turning us so I was against the pool wall.

"Hey." Bakugou jerked his head up in an attempt to greet me. His hand pulled the collar of his white short sleeve up, covering the mark on his neck.

"Hi." I smiled sheepishly.

His lips were hungry, forceful as he pushed them into mine, colliding with such gentle pressure. My hands flew to his hair pulling the roots.

"Nice blanket. Dinosaurs just your thing?" He asked, pulling the blanket a bit on purpose. I jerked it back, covering my own collarbone from being shown.

"Yeah, I was just cold and... you know."

The water moved around us the more the kiss intensified. The heat in our bodies collided, bringing more of a rush to the feelings cultivating in us.

He didn't have to say anything. The look he gave me told me everything. He too was also thinking about the kiss. The most profound intimate moment of my life.

"Cold... I'll let you call it that." He teased, voice lower for only the two of us to hear.

Our relationship was different now.

More open, more teasing, definitely more flirting. With each second I could just feel the sexual tension grow between us. The longer I thought about the pool the more my stomach curled and my hands grew sweaty.

"Attention, Class A, our bus is here. Everyone line up in your preferred seating order!" Iida called waving his arms around to get our attention.

"Uh, who are you guys sitting with?" I wondered, turning back to my group.

"Kirishima and I got a cool movie we wanna watch. See ya guys!" Kaminari waved as he and Kirishima walked off, their phones in hand as they showed each other their screen.

"Hakagure wanted to sit together! Bye-bye!" Mina cheered, skipping off to the invisible girl.

I stood quiet, looking at the ground as I let a small laugh leave my mouth. "I guess you and I are sitting together." I looked up at Bakugou to see him already looking at me.

"Guess we are." He smirked, walking away to the bus. He looked over his shoulder, signaling for me to follow. I sighed, shaking my head at his subtle obvious actions.

"Wait for me," I called, speed walking behind him.

We got in line and right as I was going to walk behind him, he grabbed my wrist pulling me in front of him. Without anyone noticing, he subtly kept his hands on my waist for a second longer, giving it a small squeeze.

I slapped his hands off, feeling flustered. 'Calm yourself.'

'Can't help it sometimes.' He responded back as we climbed onto the bus. I took the window seat as he took the one next to me.

"Can you reach into my bag and grab my book?" I asked him as I balled my blanket on my lap, pulling my phone and headphones from the waistband of my skirt.

"Here." He held out the book waiting for me to grab it.

"Thanks." He sat down next to me grabbing the blanket to give me room to get comfortable. I shifted around until lifting my feet over his lap.

Grabbing the blanket back, I fixed it over the both of us making sure it fit well enough. I handed him one earbud placing the other in my ear.

"Any song you wanna hear?" I asked, scrolling through my playlist. I felt his hand go under the blanket and rest comfortably on my knee.

"Nah, play whatever I don't care." He grumbled, phone in his free-hand. I clicked a random song, putting my phone down to read.

"Here's the deal. We'll be on this bus about an hour before our first stop. Make sure you stay focused." Aizawa announced with only half of my attention.

"Who the hell brings a book to camp?" Bakugou bubbled up, flicking the corner of the pages.

"Uh- Don't flick the book, you rat." I insulted jokingly as I hugged the book against my chest. He rolled his eyes at my overdramatized attitude. "It's a poem book I've been reading since forever."

"If you finished it then why read?" He was curious. The idea seemed idiotic to him.

"Because I like to reflect on it and just, I don't know, just to refresh myself with the meanings of the poems," I revealed unsure of the meaning itself. "I make small notes."

"Sounds stupid." He mocked earning a smack with the book from me.

"It is not stupid, you are for that matter," I argued back, rolling my eyes. "Here, borrow it and you'll understand after." He looked between the book and my hand before hesitantly taking it from me.

"I'm not gonna read this shit." He choked, fanning the pages out in front of his face. I took my legs off of his lap replacing them with my head.

"Yeah, yeah, do whatever you want but you'll regret it one day." I sighed, tucking my hair over his legs. He looked down at me with annoyance before shaking his head and letting me rest.

"Don't think I will. Move your elbow, it's going into my damn ribs." He groaned, grabbing it and putting it over my chest.

"Sorry, I didn't realize." I rubbed his rib before laughing slightly. "Okay, I'm going to sleep for the next hour. Night."

"Night."

///

"God damn, why are you so mad?!" Bakugou yelled as he followed my stomping body out of the bus. We finally made our first stop after the hour Aizawa said we had.

"Because you woke me up by putting the earbud in my nose for fucks sake!" I argued back, walking away from him. He groaned childishly at my actions, only regretting his past decisions.

"You two sound happy." Kirishima scoffed jokingly, rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the bright light outside.

"It's cause he--"

I was cut off by Bakugou putting his arm around my shoulders, covering my mouth with his hand.

"You're better when you were knocked out, just shut up already." He spat, looking down at my head that stuck out from the loop under his arm.

The tension in my shoulders dropped as I leaned my head against his chest. God was he annoying but this was the closest he'd let the two of us get in front of everyone.

He slowly took his hand off my mouth and let me stand up fully. "Thank you, my back was starting to hurt." I huffed, stretching my shoulders back. I shook off his arm and walked away to the ledge where the open mountain area sat.

The mountains were beautiful. There was nothing else around besides open spaces of grass and trees. Nature at its finest. Mineta ran by yelling about how badly he wanted to pee which made me realize.

"Wait. If we were going to the camp, why are we surrounded by nothing?" I turned back around walking to Bakugou's side. He rested his arm on my shoulder, shifting to the side.

"Where's Class B?" Jirou added, also noticing we were the only bus here.

"You don't really think we stopped here just so you could stretch your legs, do you?" Aizawa asked, rhetorically, sass and sarcasm laced in his voice.

"Please, sir, the toilet," Mineta begged, his legs squeezed together.

"Heya, Eraser!" A voice called from behind us. The entire class's attention was caught, most of us turning around to see who spoke. It was hard to believe that none of us had noticed the random car parked to the side.

Our teacher bowed in respect. "Long time no see."

Two girls appeared in front of us. Their outfits resembled ones of cats yet with more spunk and vibrant colors that popped. Their emotional levels were out of whack with a bit too much happiness coming from one of them.

"Your feline fantasies are here! Say, 'meow'." Mandalay purred.

"Purrfectly cute and catlike girls!" Pixie-bob formed a heart with her paws as she spoke.

"You can call us the Wild, Wild Pussycats!"

We stared at them with the hard look of "What the fuck" across of faces. I hadn't even blinked the entire time of their mini-performance. There was a hard crease pressured between my brows from how deep my expressions were.

"These are the pro heroes you'll be working with at the summer training camp." Aizawa introduced us to them. Everyone stood quiet, unsure of what to say until Midoriya jumped up bursting with excitement.

"They're a four-person hero team who specialize in mountain rescues!" The flustered blush faced boy turned to us, practically bouncing in his skin. "The Pussycats were founded when we were kids, like forever ago!"

A loud audible gasp came from the two heroes behind him.

"This marks their 12th year working as a--" Pixie-bob cut off Midoriya, clawing at his face with no mercy. My eyes widened from her sudden aggression as Bakugou next to me enjoyed watching it play out.

"I'm pretty sure your math must be off. I'm 18 at heart." She gritted through her teeth, her hand still covering his entire face.

"Understood!"

"That's so sad." Kirishima and Kaminari mumbled under their breaths.

"Everyone, say hello," Aizawa instructed, ignoring the scene in front of him.

"Hello! Nice to meet you!" I nudged Bakugou mid-sentence, getting him to stay it also since he had been dazed off. He sighed, mumbled it under his breath from the brute force.

"We own this whole stretch of land out here. Everything you can see. The summer camp you're staying at is there at the base of the mountain." Mandalay showed us, pointing the direction.

"That's far!"

"Uh. Ochaco began. "Then why did we stop all the way up here instead?" My hand ran across my face with distress.

"I'm afraid we both know the answer to that." Tsu grieved, feeling regretful for the all of us.

Sato shook his head in denial. "That can't be right."

"Um. Back on the bus." Sero laughed nervously. "Quick. Let's go."

"Good idea. Load up." Kaminari agreed, following his friend's lead. Everyone else nodded also agreeing with the idea.

"The current time is 9:30 in the morning. If you're fast about it, you might make it there by noon." Mandalay teased, a smirk sewing onto her face.

"No way. Guys!" Kirishima fretted, fear across his face.

"Holy crap!" Mina cried. Everyone's fear level spiked up an enormous amount as the realization soon came to us.

"Save yourselves!"

Everyone ran attempting to escape the pro heroes. As surprising as it was, it had been Bakugou who grabbed my wrist dragging me behind him.

"Kitties who don't make it there by 12:30 won't get any lunch," Mandalay yelled out against the stomps of everyone's feet hitting the dirt ground.

"You should have guessed, student." Aizawa sighed, disapproving our actions. "The training camp..." Everyone gasped as Pixie-bob jumped in front of our way. "...Has already begun."

Pixie-bob's quirk worked, moving and pushing us only using the ground beneath us. Bodies crashed into each other, dirt flying into our faces as soon the ground disappeared.

We fell out from the ledge, I had before been looking from, with screams and fear filling our systems. I knew at some point I'd die but this wasn't how I imagined it.

"Good news!" Mandalay shouted from the top of the mountain. "Since this is private land, you can use your Quirks as much as you want to. You've got three full hours. You should be able to make it to the facility at that time. That is, if you can get through The Beat's Forest."

Everyone stood up, dusting off their uniforms and hands of dirt.

"Hey, you know, that fall wasn't too bad." I joked, pushing loose hair out from my face. It stuck to my eyelashes and was in my mouth.

"That's because you fell on me dumbass-- Get off!" Bakugou shouted from under me, pushing my body off his. I fell across from him on my stomach, looking back at him with a hard glare.

"Could have been nicer about it," I mumbled, pushing myself off the ground. Everyone around was staring into the forest, panicking and nervous.

"The Beast's Forest?!" Midoriya cried, his voice echoing into the trees.

"It sounds like a name right out of a fantasy game." Kaminari wailed, continuing from Midoriya's statement.

"Why do we keep falling for Aizawa's little tricks?" Jirou groaned. Ochaco and Tsu were next to her on the ground. I walked over helping them up carefully.

"Am I the only one who thinks this could be fun?" I thought aloud in a slightly lower tone than usual.

"You're also the one with a concussion, y/n." Jirou reminded me, patting my shoulder.

"I guess there's no use complaining." Kirishima laughed off, dusting himself. "Might as well get going."

"See! Kirishima gets me, right bestie?" I joked, walking over to him before placing my arm on his shoulder. Someone from behind grabbed the back of my shirt pulling me back into their chest aggressively.

Bakugou looked down at me with irritation in his eyes.

"Jeez, jealous much." I huffed, smacking his arm away. Mineta zoomed past us with such a rush that light wind went by as he ran.

He soon came to stop when a giant beast-like creature came stopping toward him. We all watched, frozen, as it looked at him and roared at his tiny stature.

"We're all gonna die!" Sero and Kaminari screamed.

"Please calm yourself my giant friend!" Koda warned, attempting to use his quirk to calm the creature. "You don't wanna hurt them!"

The creature ignored his calls, throwing his claw back to butcher the small grape boy. Stupid enough, Mineta stood watching him until Midoriya zoomed in and saved him.

A few students flew by, ready to take hits at the monster.

Todoroki froze the ground with a single stomp, sending ice in a trail. Iida followed behind him using his "Reipro burst" to kick off a piece of its body.

I ran behind Bakugou, being careful of the explosion he was about to let go of. "I'll kill you!"

"You almost killed me in the process!" I growled, sending out a wave of black matter from my hand. The creature disappeared with his entire body being destroyed.

"What if that's what I was aiming for?" Bakugou smirked, earning an eye roll from me. He continued to laugh slightly at me.

"How romantic," I mumbled under my breath. I rubbed my hands together looking down at them with hesitation. Black magic, a power every caster had since birth. Only mine had stood black from being half dark.

"You guys took that beast down in seconds!" Sato's voice brought me back to reality, distracting me from my thoughts. I could see Bakugou in the corner of my eye, watching me closely.

"It was awesome." Sero applauded.

"You showed that thing who's the boss." Kirishima praised his best friend.

"We're not done." Bakugou reminded the class, his face facing the large vast of trees we had in front of us.

More growls and roars echoed in the distance away from us.

"Hey, come on." Kaminari groaned. "Don't you think this is a little unfair?"

"What now? Do we run?" Mina questioned, unsure of what our next move should be.

"Not good." Sato quavered in slight worry. "If we don't make it to the camp fast enough, then we won't get anything to eat."

"We need to go and now because I will not go without food." I urged, attempting to motivate everyone while food being the main subject in my mind.

"They're right." Momo agreed, taking a lead. "We have no choice but to cut through these woods using the shortest possible route."

Everyone nodded, agreeing with her idea.

"All right." Iida coincided. "Let's go, Class A!"

"Yeah!"

Everyone was pumped, finally ready to take on the forest with the new motives in them. We each took our turns, jabbing at the creatures with our powers, working as a team.

"I spot three up ahead. And two flanking each side." Shoji analyzed using his many eyes and senses.

"So seven total. They're coming!" Jirou warned, running back with the group.

"Alright. I've got this one!" Sero called out. Tape released from his elbows, wrapping around the tree closeby and around the flying creature's wing, stopping it in flight. He threw it to the ground causing it to turn into a simple pile of dirt.

Sato and Kirishima muscled up, taking their jabs at the creatures from the ground.

"Bakugou!" I called out to him loudly. I jumped out from the top of the tree I climbed up, quickly slowing time for a second to reach one of the flying dirt monsters that were crossing by.

Its target changed from my fellow classmates to down at the ground as I bounded it to the ground. Bakugou blasted it before running over to my falling body.

"Why would you jump from the fucking tree?!" He scolded me as he caught me in his arms with a jolt.

"Because I knew you'd catch me." I smiled before patting his hair and jumping out of his arms. He growled under this breath before running next to me.

Purple balls flew around as Kaminari ran up the tail of one of the dirt monsters. "Mineta, get outta here." He warned, wrapping his hands its head. "One point three million volts!"

We ran past the girls who had their own plan, using Hagakure as their bait. She ran past the beast using herself as bait to lure them in.

"Everyone, quick. Take cover now!" Momo warned. Large explosions came from behind, breaking the creatures down immediately.

"That was amazing, Momo!" Mina cheered for her.

"Great job!" I smiled, looking over my shoulder.

"I've spotted more of them closing in." Shoji let us know. Bakugou left my side along with Todoroki behind us as the two unintentionally worked together to bring them the one in front of us down.

"You're in my way there, Icy hot!" Bakugou cursed, glaring at his classmate.

"Then pick another route." Todoroki dismissed, ignoring Bakugou's anger. I shook my head at the two, running up ahead of them further.

In the distance, Midoriya and Iida were yelling at each other aiming directly at the beast in front of them. Midoriya flew across the tree before giving it a full-powered punch.

This process continued for what felt like forever. The same, flying across trees, yelling at each other, using our quirks until it ached.

I just wanted food.

///

I trudged through the grass, forcing my legs to move despite the strong resistance that was held along their numbness. Saying my head hurt was far below an underestimation. The bit of strength left in me was only enough to move a single leaf with the wind.

Bakugou was working double as he watched over me as I made terrible decisions with my fighting tactics while also taking care of himself. His hands were twitching, pain only striking through them slowly.

Our thoughts were loud in each other's minds yet neither of us had the energy to make it stop.

Overall, the class worked our asses off. I only hoped that the food was amazing after all the hours of bullshit we just went through.

"You said it would only be, like, three hours?!" Sero trembled, his tiredness appearing in both his tone and face.

"I guess we timed it based on how long it'd take us. Sorry!" Mandalay laughed off, ignoring our misery.

"Now you're braggin' about how much better you are? That's so mean." Sato breathed, dropping onto the ground.

"I'm starving. This is hell." Kirishima bellowed, throwing his head back.

"Stupid bullshit," I muttered, crouching to the ground, loosening my tie and throwing it off to the side. Bakugou rested his arm on my head, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow!" Pixie-Bob blurted, her paws covering the amount of happiness she was holding in. "I thought it would take you kids even longer. But, you did much better against my dirt monsters than I thought you would. You guys were seriously great. Especially the five of you!"

She pointed to Midoriya, Iida, Todoroki, Bakugou, and me. Red flags spread across in my mind.

"It seems like you've had quite a bit of experience. I call dibs on these kittens! I'll groom them myself!" She launched herself forward straight at us.

"Nope- don't touch me." I hurried away, keeping my hands folded against my chest as a way to hide horribly.

She grabbed my shirt pulling me back as I shielded my face, swatting her away.

"Mandalay. Has she always been like this?" Aizawa asked a distance away from us.

I hit her hand, pushing myself away from the harassment. I had no idea what was up with her but it was getting into my bubble of personal space.

"It's gotten worse lately," Mandalay confessed. "She's at the age to take a mate."

"Uh. Speaking of people's ages--" Midoriya began until once again getting a hand to the face. Poor kid couldn't get one sentence in before getting attacked by her or Bakugou.

"Choose your words carefully, boy." Pixie-Bob threatened. A bead of sweat dripped from Midoriya's nervous face.

"I've just been wondering since we got here earlier. Who is that kid? What's he doing here?" He pointed over her shoulder to a small boy wearing a red baseball cap.

"Oh, this little guy?" Mandalay looked down to her side where he was. "He's my cousin's son. He lives with us now. Don't be shy, Kota. Say hi to everyone. You're gonna be around them for the next week."

Midoriya got free from Pixie-Bob and walked over to him. Bakugou subtly came over to where I stood.

"Hey there. My name's Midoriya. I'm from the UA High School hero course." He bent down lending his hand out. "It's nice to meet you!" I smiled thinking how kind he was to the kid until Kota's arm jerked back and punched Midoriya in a spot that probably hurt a crap ton.

"What a low blow! You fiend of a child! A punch to the scrotum is unforgivable!" Iida disapproved, rushing to Midoriya's side.

"The last thing I want is to hang with some wannabe heroes." Kota spat. I couldn't help but smile a bit. He reminded me of myself at that young age.

"'Wannabe'?! How old are you, kid?"

A heavy sigh was let go next to me. My heart turned to see Bakugou smiling at Kota with such admiration. "That brat's got spunk."

"He's like a mini version of you," Todoroki murmured loud enough for him to intentionally hear. Bakugou's smile dropped, turning into a scowl. I laughed slightly, earning a deeper glare before he walked to Todoroki.

"What are you talking about? You need to shut your mouth before I blast you all the way to hell." Bakugou intimidated.

"Yeah, sure," Todoroki mumbled, shrugging.

"Enough playing around. Get your stuff off the bus. Once your bags are in your rooms, we'll have dinner in the cafeteria. After that, you can bathe and sleep. Tomorrow your training starts in earnest. You'd better get a move on." Aizawa suggested pointing to the buses.

///

"Move it, I want to eat my food!"

"I have never seen y/n so eager for anything!" Mina laughed, scooting over so I could sit next to her. She pushed food into her own mouth.

"It's food. Could you blame her?" Kirishima shrugged, stuffing his already full mouth.

I grabbed my plate of meat, taking no time to fill my mouth. Being a careful eater was something I was not. The amount of pure agonizing hunger in my system was way more important than my appearance while eating.

Bakugou across from me was in the same ordeal as the bowl of white rice was only centimeters away from his face as he continuously stuffed his face and ate his food.

My mind only had thoughts of food and sleep on it with hints of my brother and mom at home.

I missed them a ton.

Usually, we'd travel together, never being the distance we were currently. Especially with Senya, he and I usually always did things together. I only hoped that they'd be okay since I had no communication with them.

The sound of a plate hitting the table made me jump up slightly.

I looked at the table to see that Bakugou had placed down a plate of chicken in front of me, giving it a small push forward before going back to his own food.

"Oh my food." I groaned, grabbing the plate and digging in. "Thank you~" I sang, bringing the chopstick up to my mouth.

"Yeah whatever, you need it more than I do." He shrugged, going back to eating his own food.

"Anyway, today's the only time we'll be doing this for you," Pixie-bob told Kaminari as I eavesdropped. "So make sure you kids enjoy it."

"Thank you!"

I didn't know what that meant or even wanted to know what she meant. My body was worrying about the soreness and cracking that was going on with my bones.

After eating we all went our separate ways to bathe and get ready for the night.

I was full body into the hot springs, ignoring all of my surroundings. My body was at ease, calmer than it had been before yet with subtle pain in certain areas.

"This feels amazing!" Mina beamed, splashing water around.

"I'm so glad they've got a hot springs here!" Jirou continued, running the water up and down her arms.

"Well deserved after a hard day." Momo chimed in, engulfing herself in the comfort.

'How are you feeling?' I queried, going back to the conversation Bakugou and I were having in secret.

'Still shitty but better than before. And you?" He responded back. Distant yells from the other side of the wall got louder.

'I'd say a lot better. What's all that yelling?' I questioned, still keeping my eyes close.

'Watch out, the grape face is trying to climb over.' He warned me. I opened my eyes, looking up to see Kota pushing Mineta back onto the boy's area.

Of course, the pest would go crazy enough to do something like this.

"Mineta really is the worst, isn't he?" Tsu shared her thoughts with the rest of us.

"Thanks so much, Kota, babe! We owe you one!" Mina thanked the child on the top of the wall. She must have forgotten that we were completely nude but it sure did shock Kota.

He jumped in hysteria before falling onto the boy's side.

"Poor baby, Mina. Gave him a heart attack." I laughed, sitting up against a rock next to Ocacho who was standing.

"Sorry! I totally forgot that we were in the water." She chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. She turned her head away from me before having to do a double-take. Her eyes widened along with her smile. "Y/n, what is that?!" She pointed to the mark on my collar bone.

My hand flew to the mark covering it. "Nothing, just a bruise."

"A very special bruise! Let us see." She sped over to me, pulling my arm away from my neck forcefully. The noise was mixed with the water splashing around us and the other girl's laughs behind us.

"Mina- come on it's nothing--"

"Got it!" She shouted, yanking my hand away.

The other girls gasp, walking closer to see the mark. I covered my face that was obviously blushed from the deepest embarrassment. It had slipped my mind that it was there and, of course, being completely nude, they were going to find it.

"Woah, y/n, is that what I think it is?" Ocacho asked a smile etched onto her face.

I laughed a bit more from nervousness before walking backward. "You guys are insane. Nasty for that matter- PSH. You know, I'm gonna go get dressed and head to sleep." I quickly got out of the water, grabbing my towel, and running out.

'No more hickeys you ass twat.'


	25. (24) Kalopsia

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I search your eyes

for answers

but only found

your regrets.

\- Me (Rina lol)  
\----------------------  
We woke up at the literal ass crack of dawn. Not even the birds were up at this time.

"Y/n, it's time to get up." Jirou sighed, crouched down to my sleeping body as she shook me. I slapped her hand away going deeper into my sleeping bag.

"Go away."

"Aizawa will literally kill you. Let's go." She pulled my arms, sliding me out to the sleeping bag and across the floor into the bathrooms to get ready.

I finally picked myself off the ground and changed into my training suit unenthusiastically. Looking in the mirror, I looked like death. The hours of long pain from the day before taking effect.

Not to mention the fact that my dreams were now nightmares.

With a yawn, I exited the room, sluggishly heading to where Aizawa told us to go. That was until a door opened in front of me.

My hand flew up, using my powers to stop the door from making full contact with my face. The person behind it paused before peeking through the cracks between the wall and door frame.

"Are you serious, Bakugou? You always pop up at the weirdest times I swear." I sighed, walking forward without his response.

"Not my fault you got in the way of the door." He shrugged. He followed behind me noticing my more on edge attitude. "You look like shit."

"Thanks." I laughed half-heartedly.

"What happened? Didn't sleep well?" He asked, worried for the reason for my exhaustion yet attempted to not make it obvious.

"Not exactly but I'll be fine it's whatever. They're only dreams, they're not real." I brushed off. I didn't want to talk about it. They were memories that played out in my mind as fragments of my unwanted childhood mixed with things that were unlikely to happen.

The problem was that I didn't know the reason for them coming back.

"Hey." He grabbed my arm stopping me from continuing on. "Are you sure?"

I looked down for a moment, my eyes wandering across the ground as if they were looking for the correct answer to say. "Yeah, I'm sure."

He looked at me a bit longer before slowly letting go of my arm, putting his hands deep into his pockets. "Don't lie to me that shit won't work--"

"I'm not. Okay?" I interrupted, trying to end the conversation faster. "Let's just go before we're late." I grabbed his hand giving him a small tug forward before he followed behind me. I let go of his hand, letting it fall to his side.

I could feel the emotion from him almost like he wanted me to feel it: concern. He wanted to trust me, feel at peace knowing that I was okay emotionally and physically. There was a small bit in him that wanted that peace of mind.

"Hey, y/n." Kendo greeted me as Bakugou and I made it to the area. She as well looked tired and unhappy to be up early.

"Hey, Kendo. Seems like you and I are always seeing each other." I joked, laughing a bit. With being neighbors, I saw her whenever it was recycling days or trash days. She and I would walk to the area to leave our bags and walk back.

"Yup! We'll have to hang out some time while we're here." She suggested, smiling also at me. "Looks like we gotta go, but I'll see you later."

I waved to her, making my way back to my class.

"Good morning class." Aizawa greeted, right as I snuck into the group. "Today, we begin a training camp that will increase your strength. Our goal is to increase your skills exponentially, so that each of you earns a provisional license. This will allow you to face the dangers that continue to fester in the darkness. Proceed carefully. Look alive, Bakugou."

Aizawa threw a baseball at him to which the blonde caught with a single hand. I stood in the back wondering what he was going to have him do.

"Try throwing that for me," Aizawa instructed, nonchalantly.

"Yeah, sure. Like in the fitness test." Bakugou agreed. A fitness test didn't sound familiar to me which meant they had done this after I arrived.

"That's right. When you first started school, your record was 705.2 meters. Let's see if you've improved."

Mina gasped nodding her head. "Oh, I get it! We're checking our progress." I made my way to the front to get a better view.

"A lot's happened to us the last three months. Maybe he can throw it a whole mile now!" Sero theorized, excited for his friend.

"C'mon, get it, Bakugou!" Kirishima cheered next to me. For some reason, Kirishima reminded me of my brother. Maybe that's why he and Bakugou get along so well.

"I've got this. No one blink." Bakugou smirked, his ego being boosted. A smile appeared on my face from the confidence he radiated.

Nothing could dim his light.

His arm swung back with the opposite arm out to precise his aim. "Go to hell!" He screamed, putting his entire body's energy into the throw.

Large gust of wind sprung out, blowing in our faces rapidly.

We all stood quiet, eagerly awaiting the results from one of the top combat students in our class. We were all expecting a number larger than what we could imagine.

"That was 709.6 meters."

"That's it? Kinda disappointing." Sero mumbled.

I could feel the anger radiating out of Bakugou. He was frozen stuck in the position he threw the ball in with only a scowl and sweat coming down his face.

'You did a great job. Take that look off your face.' I told him, hoping it would give him ease from the intensive put-downs he was telling himself.

'Great isn't good enough.' He spat, giving me a side-eye.

"You've had a single semester at UA, and due to your various experiences, all of you have definitely improved. But those improvements have mostly been limited to mental prowess and technical skill. With a slight increase in stamina thrown in along the way." Aizawa walked across to be directly in front of us. "Your Quirks really haven't grown that much stronger. Not on a fundamental level."

Although I didn't have a quirk per se, I would say my powers haven't grown as I'd like them to. But that was with my own hesitation.

"That's why we're now going focus on improving your powers." Aizawa's flat expression turned into a grin that I hadn't been too excited to see with this context. "This'll be so hard, you'll feel like you're dying. Let's hope you all survive."

(Spotify playlist (the study/reading one): This Creed & The Glass slipper, play those for effect or find them on youtube!)   
(Spotify playlist (the study/reading one): This Creed & The Glass slipper, play those for effect or find them on youtube!)

"If the pain becomes unbearable, keep going. Get to it." Aizawa demanded, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaving.

"So much for motivation," I mumbled quietly as he walked away. He came by giving me instructions on what he wanted me to focus on.

His choice for today was emotional release. Basically, he wanted me to voluntarily take in everyone's emotions from both Class A and B to convert them into a usable power or to throw back at an enemy.

In other words, I was going to die from massive headaches and nose bleeds. I could already feel my eyes water.

Since having to collect everyone's emotions, I was in the forest alone, centered between the two classes. I was able to see a few of my friends since I was on a small mountain yet it wouldn't hide the fact that I had been isolated from others.

Bakugou was one of the people I was able to see.

He was releasing the most anger from the group of students. Angry at himself for not exceeding the expectations he engraved into his mind, not accepting any lower than it or else. Angry at the weakness he showed to everyone with being Aizawa's example, fearing the idea of being categorized as below satisfactory on our teacher's imaginary list.

Yet he didn't know how above average he was in everything. A simple task done by him would surprise anyone by its perfect execution but he wouldn't see it that way. I hated the way he thought at times but if I at anything attempted to confront him about it, I'd be wrong, an 'idiot' in his words because he was always in denial.

I sat down on a large rock, keeping one hand propped against my cheek and the other out to collect all of their heavy filled emotions into my body. Mentally, I played a game with myself, trying to guess which emotion with the corresponding student.

As I went through each student, a strange presence came over me. Discomfort, an unsettling choke over my chest, caving it into itself. The familiar feelings of terror that already sat deep inside me rose up to the surface of my consciousness, crowding it with the destruction of my thoughts.

That's when I noticed that everyone and everything around me was frozen.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I turned around to face my dad. The person I hated with the deepest passion although the smallest parts of me hoped that he would change. I was only nothing but stupid for cheating myself that.

"I came to give you a visit. Don't you miss your father?" He came fully from behind the tree, his gold cat-like eyes glowing the brightest.

"Leave. Now." I demanded, standing up fully.

"Now? But I just arrived. Let's talk." He suggested, taking a seat on the rock I previously sat on.

I shook my head, turning to walk away. "We have nothing to talk about. You're a piece of shit."

"Gathering emotions I see? I remember my days of doing the same trainings on my own." He sighed, reminiscing on the days before.

"You mean before or after you murdered people, taking innocent lives?" I asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer back. My arms were crossed, hiding the subtle panic that sunk into my body.

"And you yourself are innocent? Hide your darkness all you want dear but it lives in you, waiting for the days it could be fully unleashed once again. Don't you still think about Yusara?"

Something in me broke. An invisible thread that was pulled too hard, snapping into two.

I warped in front of him, my hand clawing out near his neck. My power wrapped around him, taking no mercy at the moment, my thoughts being blinded by rage.

"Don't you dare say my sister's name. If that comes out of your mouth one more time, I will not hesitate to kill you right here." I threatened, eyes full of remorse. It only brought joy to his system, laughing at it my hostility. 

"And there it is. It has been years since both of your eyes glowed that brightest of gold, honey. You are dark and no matter how hard you push it away, it comes back." He chuckled, taking hold of my hand and shoving it down. "Don't you forget, Y/n. You are responsible for her death."

"No, I'm not. You are." I shook my head, eyes welling tears. "I could have saved her, she could have been here with us now! It's you who killed her!"

"And it was you who watched and did nothing of it! Accept it y/n, you are the reason she is dead." He yelled back, enjoying the view of his daughter breaking down in front of him. "I may have killed her yet you, y/n could have stopped me."

"I tried. I tried and it wasn't enough." I cried, letting a few tears leave my eyes. "You bounded me to the chair, focusing me to watch. There was nothing I could do."

"If you loved your sister that much, you would have done something." He spat, adding to the pile of pain I was feeling.

He's wrong.

You didn't do anything wrong.

You didn't kill her.

I tried to tell myself the same phrases repeatedly, confirming to myself that I hadn't been at fault. I wiped my face, my breath shaky. "Leave now. I'm telling them immediately that you were here."

"Do that and say goodbye to your mother and Senya." He rapidly said, canceling out my previous statement. He knew he had me trapped, no way to escape his threats. Everything is going exactly how he wanted it.

"Leave them out of this," I warned, eyes glaring back at him.

"Then don't tell anyone I was here." Slowly, everything around us started moving again. "Oh, and before I go, I should warn you of an event that is soon to come."

"Yeah right, like I'd believe any of your lies." I scoffed, shaking my head. "Fuck- Just go!" I used the emotions I held in from the others to break a branch from the tree above him. 

His hand lifted stopping the branch, disintegrating it. "Suit yourself. See you soon, my dear. The darkness is waiting. Light can't save you forever."

With that, everything was back to its normal speed and he disappeared in thin air.

I walked up to the nearest tree, releasing all my tears and anger on it. Loud sobs escaped my mouth yet were muffled by the sounds of everyone using their quirks. My fist continuously hit the tree over and over until small cuts covered the side. Frustration with myself being let out.

Now I know why the nightmares came back.

///

"Now. Remember what I said?" Pixie-bob recalled. "We're not serving your food anymore!"

"If you guys wanna eat, you'll have to make your own meals! Starting with curry!" Ragdoll announced to us. 

"Yes, ma'am." The tone in everyone's voice weakened.

She bursted out laughing, perhaps maybe too loud. "Oh, man, do you guys look exhausted. But that doesn't mean you can coast by making sloppy cat food."

I just wanted to eat.

After the unexpected appearance of my dad, I worked harder to throw the thoughts of our conversation away. The pain and sorrow that I always drowned out because I didn't want to think about that day. 

"Let's make the most delicious curry in the world, everyone!" Iida yelled, trying to bring up the spirits of our exhausted souls.

"Yeah, okay." 

We all dispersed to our own areas that were assigned to us by Iida and Momo. I was with the girls who were trying to heat up the pots but we didn't have any fire. 

"Hey, Todoroki!" Mina called, jumping me out of my thoughts. "Can we get some fire over here, too?" 

"Here let me try." I bent down, focusing on my finger. Karasu mentioned my flames when we had the internship. Asked why I didn't want to use them. 

"Need help?" Todoroki asked, squatting down next to me. He watched as the black flame came from the tip of my finger and lit the fire in front of me. "Didn't know you had a fire ability." 

"Yeah, not that I wanted it though." I laughed, knowing the reason why. I was scared of it.

"I could agree with you on that." Todoroki nodded, giving me a small smile. I never spoke to him until now but I had a strange feeling that he and I had more in common than what we knew. 

"Bakugou. Use an explosion to light that." Sero suggested to the blonde that intensely watched the interactions between Todoroki and me. 

"This is so beneath me!" Bakugou screamed, shooting an explosion from his palm. Smoke covered the entire area around them.

"Too much!" Tokoyami cried. I sighed, getting up and walking over to where they stood.

Bakugou angrily pouted, avoiding eye contact with me as I crept up next to him. I squatted down next to him, looking between the exploded fire pit and him. 

"I think you ruined the pit," I stated, a humorous tone to my voice. He finally looked at me from the side of his eye before walking away. 

My eyebrows furrowed, creasing in confusion as to why he was giving me the silent treatment. I hadn't been in the mood to deal with his bullshit right now yet I followed him anyway. 

"Bakugou," I called out. He continued to walk, hands stuffed in his pockets. "Bakugou." I tried again.

Still nothing. 

I let out a frustrated huff, clenching my fist. "Katsuki!" I warped in front of him, making him stop in place.

"Leave me alone." He mumbled staying calm with me with subtle hints of aggression. He tried to walk around me and the trees around us until I grabbed his hand.

"What's wrong? Why are you acting like that with me?" I wondered, pulling him closer. He pushed my hand away, crossing his arms. 

"What are you hiding from me?" His eyes held worry, betrayal. Throughout this entire day, he still thought about this morning, not letting it escape his mind. 

I felt bad. Putting him in more pain than I had already done.

"It's nothing--"

"That's bullshit and we both know that." He cut me off, scoffing at my bad lie. 

"Look, I'm not telling you because I don't want you to worry about me. My problems are mine for a reason." I explained, eyes rolling toward the sky.

"It's so fucking annoying. You say you don't want me to worry but you make it worse by doing this shit like it makes it any better. And you know what pisses me off? That fact that no matter how hard I try to get you out of my mind, you're always there! How do you think that makes me feel?" He was breathing hard, anger being a heavy fuel to his screams. 

I didn't know what to say. 

Of course, I knew that we had reciprocated our feelings to each other. It just didn't occur to me that he could have been that serious. No one ever taught you how to express feelings that felt so out world, unnatural. You were thrown into the world with no instruction manual. 

"I'm sorry. I don't know what you want me to do." I walked to a tree and leaning my back against it. Digesting emotions for what they were was not a strength of mine. 

"I want you to fucking talk to me. Tell me when you're having a shitty day. Scream if you're feeling angry. Punch me, hit me, call me those stupid names you come up with. But don't ever act like your fine when you know you're not." 

We stared at each other, no other words to say but the echoes of his yells that rang through the forest around us. 

I looked down, chewing on my lip as I thought. "I'm having nightmares." I finally huffed out, after arguing with myself about it. "Nightmares about my dad, about my childhood, and..."

Bits of anxiety builder up in my system unsure if I wanted to tell him. But there was no pointing in ending the sentence when I already started it.

"And about you." 

His scowl relaxed, noticing the fear that was dug so deep into my eyes. I hadn't told him because I was too scared to believe it would come true. 

For the longest time, I always had strange feelings, thoughts that would come true. I always trusted my instincts but I didn't want to believe them this time. I had been too afraid to. 

"About me?" He repeated, his voice calmer. He walked closer to me standing only a meter away. "What about me?"

This was where I had to lie. "That you were gone." It wasn't a full lie, but it wasn't the truth either. "I just- I'm afraid of you disappearing." 

Again. 

"Tch. I'm not goin' anywhere and you know that." He grunted, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward his chest. "Whoever tries to mess with me would fail. I'd kill 'em." 

My arms wrapped around his chest, hugging him the softest yet tightest I could. Even with only wearing a tank top, his body was warm compared to my long-sleeved cold one. 

I laughed slightly, shaking my head. "Yeah, you're right. You would." 

"Fuck yeah I'm right." He chuckled, his arms wrapping around me. In the distance I could hear the cheers and laughs of the classes, signaling they finished the curry.

"We should go back. I think they're done already." I pulled away from the hug, grabbing his hand.

"Yeah, whatever. It's gonna taste like shit." He grumbled, tightening his grip around my smaller hand.

"Yeah, I know but we tried, stop complaining."


	26. (25) Epiphany

Your guard was up  
But you were only protecting  
Them  
From you  
\- rina  
——————————————————————————

It was the next morning and Aizawa took no time to have us up and ready for more training. Instead of being alone again like the past two days, I was training one on one with Bakugou who was taking a break from his boiling water buckets.

"Why are you going so hard on me." I groaned, crouching quickly to dodge his fist. Right as I stood up, I had to use my arm to block another hit.

"Why aren't you trying harder?" He challenged, dodging the hits I was sending.

"You know--" I swung my leg up to which he grabbed, dropping me to the ground with him straddling me, my leg against his chest. "-- you're being an asshole." I huffed, blowing a piece of hair from my face.

"I'm being an asshole because I know you could do better! For fucks sake, y/n stop messing around." He yelled, gripping my leg tighter. He was not fully angry yet was annoyed at the fact I was not going full power with my hits.

"Fuck you." I spat, a small smile hiding behind my frustrated face.

"Later. Now listen to me you piece of shit and try harder." He directed sternly, helping me off the ground. I laughed at his subtle flirt, throwing my head back and slapping his chest.

"I hate you." I chuckled, shaking my head. He smiled back at me also shaking his head lightly. "Fine, I'll go full out but don't be mad if I hurt you."

"Ha, yeah right." He mocked, enjoying my competitiveness coming out. He didn't like seeing me not at my best. Hated that I never put in the full effort he knew I had in me. It also made him feel that he wasn't worthy of my full power.

The thing was that I knew I had been made for power. But I had scared of using something that was made to kill people to save them. It was a process of becoming comfortable with the idea.

"Use your damn power!" He demanded. I rolled my eyes and rubbed my hands together.

"You're being such a baby about it." I teased, running at him. He followed my lead, small pops sparking between his fingertips.

My arm raised up before throwing back down at the ground.

Wind gusted by, pushing everything around us including the other students around aggressively. The explosion he let out was through off aim, catching him off guard from the unexpectance.

I could see the frustration covering his face. The anger from seeing his usually successful tactics going downhill.

Once the wind died down, he let brought his hands together, gathering the sweat from both of them to power a large explosion. It came toward me rapidly, but I waited until the last second to make my move. When seeing it was close, I flattened my hand in front of me watching the explosion shatter like glass.

A trick learned from Karasu.

Before Bakugou had the opportunity to further react, I warped behind him, covering his eyes and kicking my foot behind his knees to where he fell with me on his back.

I leaned down to ear his and whispered for only him to hear. "I won." I kissed his ear before shifting down lower to lay my head on his back, leaving my hands in his hair.

"What the fuck. That was only a few seconds." He mumbled, slightly confused and irritated at the quick loss.

He got a true taste of a caster's abilities.

"What were the words you said to me this first time we fought? Was it 'Looks like you underestimated me'?" I recited, smiling with my cheek squished against his shoulder blade.

"Whatever, don't think this will happen again." He threatened, folding his arms so his head could lay on them.

Parts of me felt bad for him losing but he asked for me to use my powers.

"Yeah, I know. You'll learn and get better. I know it." I sighed, fluffing my fingers through his hair. "Come on. Let's go again and I'll let you win so you can feel better." I joked, knowing it would piss him off.

"Shut up! I told you it was just this one time! If anything, I let you win." He argued, his eyes glaring holes into my skin.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go grab water, be right back." He mumbled insults under his breath as I walked away toward the cart where Pixie-Bob and the others were.

Everyone was focused on their own objectives with a few of the Pros yelling at them for motivation. Aizawa was with the remedial group on the extra lessons they were always going at for hours.

I felt terrible hearing Mina come to bed at 3 am.

I reached into the cart, the temperature dropping insanely as I grabbed two water bottles from the bottom. As I went to turn around, I bumped into Monoma who was waiting behind me.

"Sorry didn't see you there." I apologized to him.

"Watch where you're going next time." He spat, shoving me to the side. I stumbled into Aoyama who was next to Ocacho.

She was levitating a large rock over us and once Aoyama bumped into her, her strength depleted. "Watch out!" She yelled, using whatever strength was left in her to scream.

But it was too late.

The only thing I felt was a hard hit against my forehead and the muscles in my body give out.

Sounds became a single ringing buzz, my thoughts erasing their previous images and worries with nothing but black occupying it. My sense of touch was minimal with only the feeling of warmth and liquid.

Small thoughts came through yet they were unclear, strange, and unfamiliar. Unexpected for that matter.

"Y/n!"

My eyes sprang open, adjusting to the light that was coming from the sun directly above me. Students and teachers were paused, surround me as I laid on the ground. Kirishima was upside down in my view, holding a cloth up to my head that had spots of blood.

"She's awake!" He yelled, signaling to the others to come. I attempted to get up, pushing my body weight up.

"No, say there. We'll have someone take you over to Mandaly to get that check out." Aizawa instructed, standing over me. He looked around until his eyes focused on someone. "Bakugou. Take yourself and Yuma to get your injuries checked out."

Kirishima slowly helped me up with Momo to my other side. I stumbled lightly making everyone on edge.

"Sorry, I'm okay." I laughed off, taking hold of the cloth from Kirishima's hand. "Just a bit of an accident no worries."

"Y/n, I am so sorry." Ochaco pained, walking toward me. I smiled shaking my head.

"Don't be it wasn't your fault." I side-eyed Monoma who was holding his bleeding nose. Fucking idiot needs to keep himself in check before I do next time.

"Yuma," Aizawa called, catching my attention. "You will no longer participate in any more activities or training until we know the situation with your head. You're at risk for brain damage because of your concussion. Bakugou take her."

Bakugou walked toward me, scapes and blood on his hand. His clean hand grabbed my arm putting it over his shoulders, taking small steps forward.

We walked away from everyone as Aizawa yelled for everyone to get back to work.

I euphorically looked over to him, the sun illuminating his hair brightly. "Did you punch him?" I wondered, laughing lightly.

He smugly looked away, hiding his smirk. "Bastard got what he deserved." I laughed a bit, pressing the rag into my head closer.

"Of course he did. Dude's an asshole and for no reason." I sighed, yawning at the end of my sentence. My emotions began to feel more numb as an unknown sleepiness came over me.

Bakugou looked over at me, more alerted with the new signs I was showing. "Let's get you unfucked up. C'mon." He stopped walking, scooping his arm under my leg, being careful of his knuckles.

"Could you carry me back for dinner? I want food." I wondered, looking up at him.

He laughed shaking his head lightly. "You damn fat ass. I'll bring you back later when it's done." He walked inside the building sitting me down on the seat before walking to get Mandaly.

Hitting my head was more valuable than you thought, Bakugou.

///

"How're you feeling, y/n?" Jirou asked, filling a pot in front of me where I sat on the bench. It had been many hours later from the morning incident.

Mandaly spent hours making sure none of the damage had gone too far into my head. Luckily it had mild but she and Aizawa were still on edge about letting me do anything interactive. She put a bandaid patch and had been icing it for hours to bring down inflation after small stitching. Now there were only a bruise and a bit of stitching.

"Better, just have a headache now and just really tired." I expressed, leaning my head against the palm of my hand. My energy had just been completely gone with only enough to walk around minimally.

Bakugou came by once he was done training and showered to watch the painful process of the stitching. Kept telling me to "Stop being a pussy and suck it up." which was obviously amazing support, only the best.

After he walked me back to take a shower and here I am now.

"You're pretty strong for being able to get hit over and over on the head but still get back up." She responded as she walked away.

"Yeah, pretty manly of you, Yuma." Kirishima agreed.

"I have a tough soul." I laughed, knowing the literal hell I went through growing up. I got up slowly, hugging myself in the pullover sweater I had been wearing which really not helping with the cold at all.

Smiling as I walked by everyone, I went to go see what Bakugou had been up to.

"Whoa, Bakugou, you're really good with that knife! It's weird." Ocacho complimented, gallantly surprised. He had been chopping everything within seconds, wasting no time.

"What do you mean 'it's weird'? How can you people be so damn bad at everything?" He shouted, taking the entire phrase wrong.

"Look at that. He's not blowing stuff up." Kaminari mumbled as he walked by.

"Calm down, Bakugou. It's just weird because it's unexpected from you." I cleared up before coming to a realization. "Actually that's kind of the same thing she said."

"You shut up!" He barked, looking up from his chopping. "Go sit down! I'll take you a plate in a bit. Go read a book or some shit, I don't care- just go."

"Fine, fine. Don't get your ass in a twist. I'm going." I pouted, sticking my tongue out at him before stomping away. I went back to where I was sitting before, looking up at the sky.

Mentally I started going through the archive of books and poems I kept.

The text floated around in the cloud-like it had been apart of the sky (the gif at the beginning of the chapter). Since having nothing else to do with my time, I had been collecting them since I found out I had this strange ability.

But no one else was able to see them.

"Here." Bakugou interrupted, placing a plate in front of me with his across.

"Thank you." I pulled it toward me, moving the text from the sky to the surface of the table, still reading. Shoving the food into my mouth, I ignored everything around me.

"Not what I had in mind when I told you to read," Bakugou mumbled, taking a bite of his own food. I paused halfway of putting my spoon into my mouth.

Was I surprised? No.

He was freakishly connected to me somehow and it was a norm now. "You can see it?" I referred to the text on the table.

"Yeah, why?" He shrugged, acting as if it was normal.

I laughed slightly, looking around. "Midoriya," I called him over, seeing he was the nearest person. Bakugou glared at me for that decision.

"Is something wrong? Do you need anything?" The emerald head asked, trying to be an aid since I was injuried. I smiled and shook my head.

"No, I was just wondering if there was anything strange you saw on the tables or something." He scrunched up his face before looking around.

"No, I don't see anything."

"That's what I thought. Thank you." I approved, letting him walk away. I turned back to Bakugou with the face of 'Do you see what I mean?'

"Alright, fine. Fuck could have said that I wasn't supposed to see shit." He grumbled at me.

"I don't get how I'm supposed to act like a normal person when you are literally in my head, in my dreams, and now can see my archive of random things." I laughed, slightly frustrated at the fact that my private life was completely gone.

"What can I say? I guess you're stuck falling for me." He smirked, his cockiness shining through. He was a balloon that only grew bigger and bigger the more he got complimented by others or himself.

"Or you're a curse that haunts me," I mumbled, hoping he'd hear. The sound of his fist hitting the table was a sign that he did.

"Go to hell." He insulted, continuing to eat his food with more aggression.

"And leave you here all alone?" I moped, purposely getting on his nerves just to see him scowl at me again. Something about his angry pouts was just so adorable to me.

Once finishing dinner, I tried to help clean up but everyone was treating me like a piece of glass that was about to break. So once again I sat around doing nothing but having small conversations with people who were walking by.

"Perfect." Pixie-Bob cheered. We were all together in the middle of the forest, a distance away from the main campsite. "We've filled our bellies and cleaned the dishes. It's time for..."

"A totally awesome test of courage!" Mina cheered, jumping up and down.

"We're gonna win!" Kirishima, Sero, and Kaminari joined in, excited also bubbling in them.

"Not so fast." Aizawa interrupted their party spree mood. "It pains me to say it but the remedial class will be having lessons with me tonight instead. This includes you too, Yuma."

"Huh? Why me, I didn't fail my exam." I clarified, hands tugging on the sleeve of my sweater.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Mina screamed, her yells echoing in the trees around us.

"Sorry. Your training during the day didn't impress me so I'll be using this time, too. And you're coming because you are unfit to participate in anything let alone an activity. Your condition will be supervised by me to make sure it doesn't worsen." He explained, grabbing the remedial group with his scarf, waving for me to follow.

I sighed, slumping forward with dissatisfaction. Bakugou next to me mumbled a few things upset that I couldn't say. "I'll see you later? We could climb that mountain you were talking about tomorrow morning." I smiled, walking away slowly with my arms to my chest.

"Yeah, sure. Be careful, dumbass." He gave me a side-eye, sneaking a small smirk for only me to see. I smiled back shaking my head as I followed before Aizawa and the rest.

"Give us a break!"

"I just wanna prove my courage!"

The group cried over and over to Aizawa who, in all honestly, didn't give a flying fuck about what they had to say. I was angrier about being forced to follow but strange enough, I didn't mind it.

Something about the forest tonight just sat weirdly with me.


	27. (26) Beguile

A pulse

That wasn't strong enough to calm

To control

And it was her eyes

That sped it up

\- Rina (me)

\---------------  
"Aw... We wanted the chance to face off with all the others." Mina cried, stuck with the others in Aizawa's scarf. I walked to the side of them free from being tied, thankfully.

"I thought Pixie-Bob said we'd be getting a reward." Kirishima groaned, throwing his head back with sorrow.

I followed along finding their small comments humorous. It was all I had been hearing for the ten minutes we had been walking.

"This is more like torture," Kaminari mumbled along with them. "We want our treat, Mr. Aizawa!" He had been complaining the most behind Mina who had literal tears from the exclusion.

"Do you want me to tighten your bindings?" Aizawa sassed, rhetorically. He had not been in the mood for their babyish cries and begs.

He released them from the scarf, allowing them to individually walk inside the building. Feet dragged, unenthused as we walked over.

My head was hurting once again and I had to use some of Sero's tape to stop some bleeding that had occurred. I swear, if I saw Monoma one more time, I'd lose my shit.

"For tonight's lesson, we'll be talking about how to behave in an emergency. If you don't become more aware that you're falling behind your classmates, then the gap will keep on growing." Aizawa introduced, walking us through the hall. "In a broad sense, this knowledge is your reward. How's that for a treat?"

"I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up." Kirishima sighed. I couldn't help but also feel bad for the group. More for myself though, since forcefully, I had been dragged along.

I slid the door open before quickly closing it again on Aizawa's foot that stopped it. He silently scolded me before opening it once more.

"Oh, strange. Now, who do we have here? Six members of Class A bombed the exams? And look, there's only one guy from Class B?" Monoma mocked, sitting at a desk with papers in front of him. His cachinnation was loud and uncomfortably maniacal.

"I'm leaving now." I turned around, making my way out the door. Aizawa's scarf wrapped around me, squishing my arms to my slid as he dragged me back into the room.

I, very much against my will, walked in, taking an entire desk for myself. With my head already not being in the best, I wanted to be alone without not spoken to. Monoma made me want to punch him in square in the face.

"So, Vlad," Aizawa called to his fellow colleague. "Why don't we start with practice maneuvers?"

I laid my head on the table ready to take a small nap while they went through their lesson. Something just wasn't sitting right with me at all. A sense of dread, fear for that matter.

But it hadn't been coming from anyone in the room, more at a distance.

"I was thinking the same thing." Vlad nodded. "Perhaps we should pair them up."

We all jolted feeling a new voice. "Everyone! It's Mandalay's Telepath."

Mina giggled, hugging herself. "So weird, right? It's giving me chills."

"It is sort of annoying that it only works in one direction, though," Kaminari muttered with passive-aggressiveness.

"Stop talking," Aizawa demanded. I couldn't help but be concerned. The tone in her voice hadn't been one to announce wonderful news to us and if it were that sort, it definitely wouldn't have needed her to use her quirk.

"Two villains attacked us. It's possible there are more coming. Everyone, return to camp immediately." She instructed, attempting to stay as calm as she could. "We're regrouping. Do not engage any enemies."

"I'll look after the other students. Protect them." Aizawa directed Vlad before running out of the room. Anger rose in my system but at no one in particular, only with myself.

Whether I trusted him or no, my dad warned me that something would happen- he flat out said it. Yet I had been foolish enough to think he was trying to get me worked up.

"Wasn't this a secret?" Monoma asked Vlad. We had the same question.

"Yes, it should have been." He was on high alert, speeding to the door to see if there were any students who had made it back to our location. Iida and a small group of students came running through the halls.

I should have told the teachers about my dad. I should have told someone, even if they hadn't believed me. I had always trusted myself and the moment I didn't out of frustration toward my dad, I was wrong.

And now I felt I had been paying the price for it.

"What do we do?" Kaminari thought out loud, the guilt of everyone outside in danger, while we were inside perfectly fine, came over him.

"Everyone in Class A and Class B! In the name of the pro hero, Eraser Head, you are granted permission to engage in combat. I repeat. Use your training. You may fight these villains."

"We should go help!" Kirishima suggested, standing in his chair.

"No. You will stay seated in here where you all are safe." Vlad instructed, opening the door for Iida and the others who had come in such panic.

"We can't just sit and wait for something to happen." I disagreed, shaking my head. My own faults were getting in the way of logical thoughts.

I could feel the panic, terror, and pure undeniable horror coming from everyone in all directions. It was getting into my head not only making me feel on edge but also fueling the darkness of my powers, making me feel uneasy.

"Listen, we've discovered one of the villain's targets. It's a student named Kacchan."

"Bakugou?" Kirishima repeated, unsure if heard correctly.

Everything had gone in slow motion.

My breath, my thoughts, everyone around me.

It was a domino effect; everything negative in my life crashing down all at once. The thoughts of that day with Yusara, my dreams with Bakugou. There was dread clawing at my throat, pulling me down too deep.

If only I could pinch myself and figure out that this was all some stupid dream.

But it wasn't.

"What do they want with him?" Iida wondered, looking up at the ceiling.

"Kacchan, you should try to avoid combat. And stick to a group. I hope you can hear me!" Mandalay continued before cutting off.

Kirishima looked at the ground, his face shaking with frustration. "Aw, damn it!"

Everything comes to full circle.

Not only had life threatened me with taking a person of value in my life once, but now twice. The subtle underlying fears that laid timidly in my mind were now so diligently taking over.

I couldn't stand the thought of losing him but once again had no idea how to make it all stop, go away.

"Vlad." Aizawa appeared at the door, breathless, hair a wreak. "I need Yuma to come with me. We will keep her and Bakugou in a safe location. We heard the news that they're after her also." He informed, using the wall as support.

"What location? Mandalay didn't mention that in the message." Vlad tried to ask but Aizawa only stepped forward waving for me to follow.

"There's no time for that. Yuma, let's go, now." Aizawa demanded. He grabbed my wrist, dragging me out of the building and into the forest that deeply surrounded us.

I took the time to notice my surroundings, noticing the large changes from the last time I had been outside.

The warm sun was gone. No more birds flying around. The heavy breathed laughs and sunshine smiles were gone. No more joyous moods around the area.

Smoke was everywhere, blue flames causing the fuel to them. Auroras of havoc with only distress and horror filling the darkened skies. The overwhelming feelings of evil not only from the villains but...

From the person in front of me.

"Cut the act. Aizawa doesn't have the caster moon mark on his hand." My hand jerked away despite the tight hold. We stopped in the middle of the forest, nothing surrounding us.

There was a malicious chuckled vibrating in his throat. "You caught on a lot faster than I expected." Bit of black ash flew into the air as the image of Aizawa disappeared with it.

"I could tell it was you right when you walked in. We both know I'm not that stupid." I hissed, arms crossing over each other. I stared at my dad with such envy, pure disgust.

"If you knew, then why follow?" He challenged, walking closer to me with single slow steps. His investigative skills watching my every move in case I'd try to escape.

"Why did you warn me the other day." I had gone straight to the point ignoring his previous question. No thread of care was with me when around him. I only wanted answers.

"Your wellbeing is to some of my care. How will I be able to train you if you are damaged?" He answered honestly. I was property to him. A purposefully cracked vase that, to his eye, was in impeccable shape.

"You should have taken me then and there if that was your full intent. You had the power to yet you didn't." I was curious because it was true.

We were talking about a man of spent years building up power with the only intent to kill.

"You feel that fear in your system? Those thoughts of regret and sorrow you have? They're necessary for me to have control over you. Your weakened state will lead to my ultimate victory." He walked around me, taunting me with venom in his voice.

"And Katsuki. Bakugou, why do you need him. He has no part in my life, he's unimportant." I lied, trying to keep him as safe as possible even if it had been from afar.

"Y/n, honey, we both know that is a trick. I have seen you with him. The feelings you two have created over time. Besides, I'm sure you feel a certain... familiar presence from him." He was purposely pressing my buttons. "Yet I have no business with the kid. A simple agreement was made with both parties getting their end of the bargain. The League gets him and I have ownership of my daughter once again. It was a coincidence that you two would meet again."

"Leave him out of this," I begged, more with a threatening tone. Bakugou had gone through enough because of me. But here I was again, dragging him into the mess of my life even if it was years later. "Take me instead of him. I'll do whatever you and the League says."

He was surprised, taken back from the offer. I had been so easily known for defending my beliefs whether it was in others or myself.

But now had been a different case.

"You convince the League to leave him here and I'll go in replacement." I tried to convince him. He stood quiet, in thought.

"What's the catch?" He wondered, fingers tapping his chin.

"No catch. You take me and leave him alone. And my mom and Senya." I continued, giving into all at once.

"Hmm." He began to think, looking around the area. "Deal. We leave now." Before I had the chance to respond, he grabbed my forearm, transporting us within seconds.

The forest we were previously in was gone. Replaced with what seemed to be a bar, an abandoned one.

Lights were dim, blurred for that matter. Bar stools sat against the bar in a rounded line. The walls were brick, dirty, and untouched from what it seemed.

It was obvious that this was a hideout.

"Where is your moon's mark?" My dad asked, taking off his jacket casually. In all honesty, I had been surprised at how calm he had been acting toward me.

"Why?"

He walked up to me, slapping me across the face. My body fell to the ground holding my heated cheek. I was in shock both physically and emotionally from the unexpectance.

He crouched down, grabbing my face in his hold, only centimeters away from his. "You don't ask me for a reason. Where is your moon mark? I will only ask you once more before searching for it myself."

I held in the tears the threatened to come out. "Left shoulder blade," I whispered.

He reached his hand over, placing it over the mark. "Your powers are on a temporary hold until I can figure out what to do with your uselessness."

The moon mark was given to a caster on the day they were claimed for dark or light. Location was random but there were only two possible forms of the mark. Light casters with a white crescent moon. Dark casters with a black one.

For me, I had both, facing away from each other.

"We had an agreement," I recalled, still holding my stinging cheek as I looked up at him.

"An agreement in which you stated I could do whatever I wanted with you. You are now mine." He claimed, taking one last look at me before shaking his head. "Stay here. You have someone to meet."

His footsteps tapped away, going into a room behind the bar.

I spit out the metallic taste from my mouth, wiping my lips with the back of my hand. I touched my shoulder feeling it warmer than the rest of my body. He had been right; I was completely useless without my powers.

Slowly standing back up, I examined my surroundings. Specifically, looking for a place to escape. There was a door but that would have been too noticeable.

"Here she is."

I turned my head following my dad's voice to see him walking out with another person. He had baby blue hair, pale skin, wore plain black clothing. But the most noticeable thing was the hand on his face.

"Who is this?" I questioned, creating a distance between us.

"No need to move back. I'm Tomura Shigaraki. Your father is an alliance of mine." He introduced himself. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, no formality to the introduction. There was a difference between my dad and his attitude.

I had to remind myself that he was apart of the League of Villains.

"And you?" He asked waiting for my response.

"You don't need to know anything about me. I'm sure my dad here has told you enough." I crossed my arms. My fingers gripped the sleeve of my sweater, hiding the nervousness I was feeling.

My dad glared at me, his fingers twitching with irritation.

"An attitude she has. Seems like both of our guests will be a bit to handle but please, Ryu, reframe from too much violence." Shigaraki suggested, turning to sit at one of the bar stools.

"Both of your guests?" I turned to my dad waiting for an answer.

"You didn't really think I'd listen to your idiotic offer? I thought you knew me better." He taunted, smirk a bit too devilish.

"You lied to me." I shook my head, laughing at my stupidity.

In the center of the room, a purple cloud appeared in the center of the room, whooshing loudly.

"It seems like our second guest has arrived." Shigaraki monotony cheered. He got up from his seat, walking toward the teleporter before stopping.

My dad grabbed my arms, pulling them toward my back, bounding them tightly, as he attempted to shove me out of the room.

I pushed against his chest as hard as I could, stabbing my feet into the floor to slow his steps that forcefully tried to get me to move.

I could sense him.

He was only a few feet away from me, so close to me yet so far.

I just needed to know he was okay.

"Bakugou!" I yelled, wiggling against my dad's hold, trying to look over my shoulder.

There was an awaking in my system.

"Broomstick?" He called out. There was a guy with scars holding onto his neck. He looked terror, actually scared for once. I could see both the relief and pain in his eyes from seeing me there.

"Bakugou!" I tried to run to him but I couldn't.

"Shut up!" My dad's hand laid on my back zapping me with an electric feeling. I winced, face curling in deep pain, my body crashing into the ground.

Everything grew louder as my hearing slowly faded. Everything around me only became fuzz until finally.

My eyes closed on their own.


	28. (27) Agathokakological

A pulse

That wasn't strong enough to calm

To control

And it was her eyes

That sped it up

\- rina

I woke up to what I was guessing, a few hours later  
I woke up to what I was guessing, a few hours later.

The room was dark. Not the light in the room but the feeling. The type of dark in a room that made you feel like a person could have been standing behind you but you were too afraid to turn around a check.

Muffled sounds of talking could be heard from where I sat. My back was hunched, aching from the abnormal position my body wasn't used to being in. Handcuffs were around my wrist- rusty ones. They cut at my skin, small scrapes appearing on them.

I could still feel him.

His presence was so strong, it was hard to ignore. He was hard to ignore.

Not only had Bakugou been conscious but had also been yelling like a maniac. With being captured and all, he had taken their visitation near him as if he were a piece of priceless art that they only have a few seconds to view.

There were a few times where he'd try to talk to me through our thoughts but my dad interfere, screaming at him to stop.

He came in here a few times- my dad.

Mostly to make sure I wasn't dead but it should felt like it with the number of hits I've taken. He treated me like a rag doll, much as he did before when I was younger. I tried to be strong, whatever that means, but there was only so much I'd be able to take.

My thoughts came to a disturbance when I noticed his yells and heavy steps become louder, vibrating against the cold floors. Mentally, I prepared myself for whatever was going to be next.

He stopped in front of my cell, looking down as the keys jiggled into the hole. The ringing of them was loud, my ears were in such shock after not hearing something so closely in hours.

"C'mon get up." He demanded. His hand reached down grabbing my arm with a hard grip, pinching at my skin under my sweater. He dragged me up, pulling me behind him before my numb legs got the opportunity to wake up.

The bar that was before full of villains was now vacant. Red lights in the room occupying the shadows with their gently violent hues.

My eyes stood on the ground watching the floors change from concrete to a rugged wood until we came to a stop. I was dropped on the ground where I noticed the shadow in front of me.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Bakugou's voice was pained. Never thought he'd see me in such a state. I hadn't seen myself but I just knew I wasn't looking my usual best.

"Tell 'em, y/n." My dad commanded, giving my back a small kick.

"Tell him what? That's you're a lying piece of horse shit?" I spat, finally looking up. I was playing with fire. Being tired of all this, I just wanted out. I wanted to be home, safe

"Fucking bitch." He bent down, pulling my hair back. "Tell the boy you remember him."

"You went through my thoughts." I gritted through my teeth, laughing slightly. Must have been when I was knocked out. He could have been searching for other information and found more for what he hoped.

"Tell him now." His grip on my hair got tighter. Only intentions were to hurt me. He didn't give a damn how damaged he left me. He could care less.

Bakugou was chained with the same handcuffs. His looking in better condition by a long shot. Between the two of us, he was being handled with better care.

He was staring down at me, eyes nervous, fear-based. He knew what my dad was talking about- we all did. I couldn't get around it, I didn't know-how. There was no instruction on how to tell someone you remember bits of the life you two had before.

"I found a picture of us in my basement the day we were looking for textbooks. We were kids."

His eyes searched for a hint of a lie but he only found my pain, regrets. The feelings I hid so well inside myself because of fear. Fear that I mentioned to him before, the fear of him disappearing from my life completely.

"Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was low, frustrated, shifting his eyes away from mine.

"Why didn't you tell me? You hid the fact that we knew each other even after I told you that I remembered you from somewhere. I had to find out through an accident- through a fucking picture. How do you think that makes me feel knowing that someone who obviously an important piece in my life, is lying about our friendship, our relationship. I feel a real connection to you and--"

"You told me not to tell you!" Sweat dripped down his face, a single frustrated tear leaving his eye. It burdened him that he went on each day acting like the relationship we had was nonexistent before our supposed introduction when I transferred to UA.

"What do you mean?" My mind only recalled small moments of our childhood together. Too much couldn't be brought back whether that was my subconscious refusing to let me see or whether those memories were gone forever.

"That car accident you always talk about. That happened to me. Not you." He was so hesitant to tell me. Fighting against the promise he made years ago.

"You see y/n, you don't understand the strength of power that lives in you." My dad commented as he walked behind us, enjoying what was unfolding after so long.

"Shut up!" I screamed.

He ruined everything in my life. He was responsible for the shadows under my eyes that developed from the years of pain. The scar that laid not only on my body physically but in me, emotionally, mentally.

His voice was the last thing I wanted to hear right now.

"You felt responsible for it, had a fucking breakdown over it. Thinking about it now, I should have known you'd gone through hell and back. But that day... you erased your own memories and told me if you ever met again to be your friend still but not tell you." Bakugou couldn't hold it in anymore.

The tears were let go- the baggage he held- let go.

I stood silent.

"If you use it when your emotions are unstable you could accidentally erase more than wanted."

It explained the reason why people were so on edge with me, careful with their words as if they were glass. One wrong step and blood would be shed.

What was hard to understand was that I was the one to delete my own memories. Let's be honest, when finding the photo, I suspected multiple people to be the reason for my absent thoughts.

Senya was one of those people. He was my brother. Overprotective even if it wasn't upfront. Powerful, maybe not at the level I was supposedly supposed to be at. It sounded like something he'd do to keep me from harm's way. But the problem was he didn't have the ability to do it.

Karasu was an obvious pick also. Same powers with a few extra since he did have many years of experience beforehand. He knew much detail about it, maybe too much. Thinking about it more, he could have been explaining it to me, hinting out the situation to me.

Everyone was aware but me.

There was strong envy living in me for whoever had done the deed and now here we are, here I am. Finding out the person I was hating was myself.

"I couldn't break the promise that my best friend made me hold." His voice cracked, whites of his eyes dull, the veins in them more vibrant.

Cold liquid hit my hand.

I didn't even know I was crying. I felt numb. No thoughts. No feelings. Nothing to say to make this any better, make us feel any better.

"What more are you hiding from this boy? Your sister's death?" My dad mentioned, his own joy rising when more panic rose in my system. He was fueling his power through my emotions.

"Stop! Aren't you tired of ruining my life already!"

I had enough.

His comments were a continuous stream. They wouldn't stop and were digging me in a deeper hole that was beginning to be hard to come out of. "Leave and let me talk to him alone. Please just please, dad."

I could tell that threw him off; the fact that I called him dad.

It hadn't been something he heard in months, years. Did he deserve the title? No, not one bit. But I'd do anything right now to have a few minutes to talk with Bakugou and explain things.

My fear was after this, he would want nothing to do with me anymore. See me as crazy, unstable.

Let's not lie, I wasn't near stable.

"Twenty minutes." He finally said, face flat with little emotion. "That's all." Turning on his heels, he left the room leaving the two of us alone.

Once the door closed, the real tension set in.

The air was dense, suffocating us with each second we decided to stay silent. Eyes avoided each other.

Was it from fear? Nerves? The confirmation after all these years?

I wasn't sure honestly.

"When the rock hit me, I got some memories back." I finally said, clearing my throat. "I don't remember a lot, just small things. I just can't believe my entire memory was changed by me of all people."

"You did it to protect me." Bakugou sniffed. His handcuffed hands lifted to his face, wiping his nose.

I laughed pitifully for myself, "Seems like it didn't work in the end." We were both aware of the situation we were stuck in.

"Didn't know you have a sister." He brought up. Must have taken him by surprise, I never talked about her. It wasn't that I didn't want to.

I felt guilted.

"Had." I corrected. "Her name was Yusara- only seen her in pictures but she was gorgeous. She's actually Senya's twin."

Missing her was constant.

There hadn't been a moment where something didn't remind me of her. An item or sound that had the slightest similar ring to her laugh.

Bakugou was silent. He thought he knew everything about me, all the small details until now. Felt ashamed a bit for not knowing something so important and significant.

He tried to mumble things, form a sentence that coherently didn't sound like a real language.

So I continued telling the story. "She died before we got sent to the mental hospital (an: you and Senya were sent there bc of the abuse you went through). My dad got to her and me, took us, and had me watch as she killed her. My dad tries to put her death on me because I couldn't save her. It wasn't that I didn't want to, I just couldn't. And if you're wondering, she died by fire."

"Have you ever tried to use flames? You're fully capable of doing so."

I remember that moment Karasu asked me why I didn't use the fire aspect of my powers. I came up with some bullshit answer to avoid the memories. The truth was that I didn't want to use it. It was a power used to kill, not save.

A power that put me through fucking misery.

"And I know it seems stupid but each day it hurts because when I look at Senya, all I see is her. Those comments of when people say we look like twins eat at me so deeply because I know it's not fair that I'm still alive." Tears brimmed my eyes, tickling the inner corners of my eyes. I didn't hesitate to let them fall.

I let myself feel defeated which in all honesty made me feel disgusting.

Bakugou didn't know what to do. He'd never seen me cry the entire time we knew each other. Even when All Might had been beating us to a pulp, never once had I shed a tear. I was one of the strongest people he knew but it came at a cost; years of prior pain.

He didn't know how to comfort someone. Never had he been comforted before. So he was going to try his best even if it didn't come out the way he wanted.

"I didn't know you went through so much shit. Explains why you left right after the crash." He said, thinking back to the moment where he saw my car drive away. Never knowing if I was going to come back.

If he was going to see me again.

"I'm guessing it was because of the putting you in danger crap. Who knows what would have happened if I stood longer." I didn't want to imagine it. Seeing Bakugou here was already enough to make me feel like shit.

"You're back now. That's all that matters to me." He was serious, his tone, his face. None of what he was telling me was a lie. "You don't remember anything?"

I shook my head, looking back down. "No, not really."

That torn him.

He had always hoped I'd remember. Come back to him like he'd always wanted. The hopes he had of us coming back together and being the amazing pair the two of us were. When the dreams started up for him, he just knew I'd come back.

It just wasn't with the memory of him.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, wiping my nose with the sleeve of my sweater.

"Why are you apologizing?" He asked, harsher than he intended it to come out.

"Because I put you through so much. You went through every day pretending like we didn't have a history behind us. If I could, I'd fix this, take all the pain for you, so you could be happy. Maybe if I were different, this wouldn't have happened."

A thud echoed in the room and hands grabbed my face.

The chair he was sitting on was tipped over, broken behind him. Sitting on his knees, copying the position I was in.

Even with his hands being handcuffed, he held my face keeping my eyes focused on his.

"Stop. Just fucking stop." He pleaded. "I'm sick of listening to you. I have been threatened, the same fucking dream of you over and over, spent years only thinking about you, and damn near killed by your family. I've been going out of my damn mind for the last two years for you and now your dad is trying to help the League find a way to make the both of us some fuckhead villains. But you know what? I don't care. About them. About the past. You are god damn perfect the way you are and you are not getting rid of me- no matter what you do, no matter what they do, I'm still here. Now, what does that tell you?"

His face was creasing where the anger formed, a slight tint of red to his pale skin. Hands trembling against my skin, tears so badly needing to leave his eyes but he wouldn't let them.

My hands slowly lifted up, carefully reaching to cup his face. Automatically, our lips connected as the tears left my eyes.

I just kept crying. I didn't know how to make it stop.

Rain danced outside, falling harder and harder within the few seconds.

It was a flood of emotions that broke through the barrier I always kept them in because I was terrible at letting them go without completely breaking myself.

My emotions were unknown to me most of the time. Since having a dad who only lived to ruin my life, I never had the emotional support most children had. Only pain, abuse.

Never had a shoulder to cry on if I felt sorrow. Never knew how to take out anger. Probably was the loudest in the room when I felt happy.

But that was until Bakugou.

He made me understand myself more. Made my emotions feel natural instead of forced. There wasn't a time next to him where I felt like our interactions were forced because they didn't need to be. He brought out the best in me no matter what people said.

With his lips against mine, the emotions were just flowing- the thunder roaring behind us.

"We'll get through this shit, okay?" His voice was barely a whisper. Softly he embraced me as I nodded.

"Okay."

After a few minutes, my tears eventually ran out, the rain outside stopped. My dad came back, pulling me away from him and tying me to the bar.

He must have felt some pity in the corner of his dry heart.

After all, I was still his blood. His only daughter left that had some value to him. Without me, his plans were ruined, no one to take over his power and continue the fest of death he had planned. Cause in the end...

I was the queen on his chessboard.

As I was my wrist was being tied to the chair, I watched Bakugou who was being handled by Dabi an Toga. He was quiet, in his mind more than the world around him.

His eyes made contact with mine, a slight smile on his face when our eyes met.

Mine glowed, reflecting in his crimson ones even with the distance between us. My dad cursed at me to stay there while he helped the league fix Bakugou in new stronger handcuffs.

Our eye contact stood, a strain that was hard to leave.

His eyes told me everything he was feeling even if he couldn't bring it to words.

'We'll get outta here, alright?' He told me, noticing my dad gave me my powers back.

I nodded lightly, smiling back, 'Alright, I trust you.'

Maybe it was there that I should have told you our relationship wouldn't last as long as we hoped it would, Bakugou.

\----

an: the weather was bc of your powers btw! (underlying meaning: you don't know how to control your emotions when it comes to have strong ones)

Also! The Adult Bakugou Steampunk AU has been completely planned out and is going to start being written but won't be out until Late March and Early April! (Patreon will get it first)

Patreon already has the next chapter.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There is a lot more now that will be uncovered!

Love u! Expect the person who hacked my Wattpad and was in the middle of deleting this book :)

\- rina


	29. (28) Lacuna

He was the fire

But she

Was his sun

\- Rina

\-----------  
Bakugou's POV (same situation through his eyes)

He had been surprised to see you there.

The unexpectance took him in such awe, he had been dumbfounded on the ways to react to at the moment. Yet his thoughts only revolved around the man who was pulling you away.

Your dad.

That bastard. He never thought he'd see that ass wipe again after the many years. Never thought he'd see you in danger again after he swore to protect you.

Bakugou knew about your arrival back to Musutafu.

Senya texted him a week before, letting him know that there was the possibility you two would meet again. There were warnings laid down, a few things to be careful about, and most importantly.

The reminder of the promise he made to your younger self.

Senya and him had always been close; best friends for that matter. Both shared similar sarcasm and the same high confidence in themselves. They were able to handle each other and insult one another without getting offended.

He'd be lying to himself if he didn't say he was more than happy to see you walk into class that first day.

"What is he gonna do with her?" Bakugou asked Dabi who had been handling him.

"I dunno, kid. It's not my business." Dabi told him which had been both frustrating and disappointing.

Your screaming had been silenced which sent worry through his system entirely. There were the subtle sounds of a chain, similar to the ones that had been put around his wrist.

The villains around tried to talk to him, butter him up into taking their offer but it was no use. No matter what they said, did, or swore, he wouldn't budge.

They gave up for the moment, leaving to a back room behind the bar.

He was left alone for a few hours with only his thoughts to leave him occupied. They were lonely without your random input here and there.

Your stupid comments, irrelevant things that you'd bring up to him with no other context.

God, he fucking hated you sometimes.

You were worse than you were kids. Oh, how he thought about those days. He would think about them whenever you weren't around to listen in.

Somethings about those days frustrated him- like the way you'd defend that damn nerd. He'd try his best to impress you which ultimately led to failure on his end.

His idea of trying to impress you involved knocking Deku down to do that. He couldn't stand the fact that Deku so easily got your attention without effort.

More of a reason to hate that nerd.

It's interesting because he thought you coming back would be different.

Thought you two wouldn't talk.

Thought you two wouldn't click the same way you had as kids because people change, people fucking change...

And you did change.

But god fucking damnit, you changed for the good and that upset him because no matter how hard he tried to not care about you- even after you left for so many years- he couldn't.

He never was great with those things, feelings he thinks they were? But something about you made him understand them a little bit more.

He felt more in touch with them, more like he knew what he wanted when in reality he didn't. What he wanted was to become the number one hero but something about you made him feel like he wanted more.

More of that strange happiness you gave him, the feeling that there may have been more to look forward to besides being the best he possibly could be.

He'd never tell you this but seeing you again made him think that there could be some kind of stupid unrealistic future with you whether that would have been dating or friends.

He just couldn't get enough for you.

Besides the point, the situation you two were stuck in now was overbearing in his mind. He needed to find an escape to make the both of you out safely.

The door where your dad took you opened. Bakugou didn't realize how much time has passed.

Your dad walked out of the door, dragging you behind him at a pace you couldn't even keep up at. Never once did your eyes look up to meet his, even when you were dropped in front of him.

It took a few seconds for you to finally looked up.

He saw everything through a single second: the pain, the tired, the pure undeniable want that you had just to leave this place.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Bakugou's voice was pained. There was blood crusted around your nose and mouth. It had been only an hour or so and it seemed that as he sat there doing nothing, you had the worst.

"Tell 'em, y/n." Your dad commanded, giving you back a small kick. Bakugou growled a bit as a warning for your dad not to do that to you.

"Tell him what? That's you're a lying piece of horse shit?" You spat, finally looking up. Bakugou gazed up at your dad, knowing exactly what he meant.

"Fucking bitch." He bent down, pulling your hair back. "Tell the boy you remember him."

"You went through my thoughts." You laughed slightly with wit, your tongue with envy.

That just confirmed it for him. But Bakugou didn't know what to think or say because the idea just seemed so unimaginable.

You looked between the ground and him before your posture fell along with a sigh. You looked as if you were fighting yourself.

"I found a picture of us in my basement the day we were looking for textbooks. We were kids."

And that was it.

The confirmation that he didn't want yet needed from you. Maybe there was a reason he wasn't able to know sooner but it bothered him. It was such an important detail to him and he felt that he deserved to know.

"Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was low, frustrated, shifting his eyes away from yours.

"Why didn't you tell me? You hid the fact that we knew each other even after I told you that I remembered you from somewhere. I had to find out through an accident- through a fucking picture..." The rest was just a blur to him.

He could hear you going on but the only thing that rang through his head was the memories. Memories of everything you two had gone through with you not even being fully aware.

He couldn't stand it.

"You told me not to tell you!" Sweat dripped down his face, a single frustrated tear leaving his eye. He didn't mean to yell at you but he felt so overwhelmed. Basically about to throw up from the feeling.

He broke his promise but it had to be done. For your sake.

He saw the look on your face, the way you shut up so quickly. He wished there was another way to tell you but there wasn't.

"What do you mean?" Your voice was quiet, eyes looking away from his. Of course, you didn't remember everything. It made him mad that he had to be the one to explain to you.

Because it was going to hurt more than he'd like it to.

"That car accident you always talk about. That happened to me not you." He remembered that day too clearly. More than he'd like.

The day where him and his mom simply went out for a drive and ended up on the side of the road, the car completely upside down and the laughs of your dad echoing in the back.

He looked up at your dad who was behind you, knowing he was getting what he wanted. He hurt Bakugou in order to hurt you because he saw the connection between you two.

"You see y/n, you don't understand the strength of the power that lives in you." Your dad commented as he walked behind us, enjoying what was unfolding after so long.

"Shut up!" You screamed.

God seeing you so conflicted and in pain hurt Bakugou. It fucking sucked.

Everything was quiet for a few seconds, more than you guys would have liked. Bakugou didn't know how to make the situation better.

"You felt responsible for it, had a fucking breakdown over it. Thinking about it now, I should have known you'd gone through hell and back. But that day... you erased your own memories and told me if you ever met again to be your friend still but not tell you."

He tried not to be a fucking pussy while talking about it but he couldn't. It had been a hard subject for him not to cry about because it was about you.

"I couldn't break the promise that my best friend made me hold." His voice cracked, whites of his eyes dull, the veins in them more vibrant.

God did he hate himself so much at the moment.

He wanted to let you know everything but it was so hard. Why did it have to be so hard? It shouldn't have been.

But it was.

He knew you had gone through a rough childhood, it slipped out from you once on accident one day when you were still kids and it was obvious the days you left for therapy. Of course, he didn't know the extent of how bad it had been until the car accident.

He hated your dad for putting you through such traumatic shit that frankly, you didn't deserve. At least not in Bakugou's eyes.

"What more are you hiding from this boy? Your sister's death?" Your dad mentioned, your eyes moving back to meet his behind where you sat.

That was something he had never heard before. He only knew Senya and never once did he hear a mentioning of another sibling.

"Stop! Aren't you tired of ruining my life already!"

He isn't an idiot, that's a fact, so he knew right away that this was something freakishly sensitive to you just from the way you reacted. You were calm, in tune with your feelings but not in an annoying ass way.

"Leave and let me talk to him alone. Please just please, dad." That was the first time he'd ever heard you call your dad that. He heard the usual nicknames of "Asshole, Satan, piece of shit.." the list went on.

It stood quiet for a few moments with your dad looking conflicted. He cleared his throat, looking away from you two. "Twenty minutes." He finally said, face flat with little emotion. "That's all." Turning on his heels, he left the room.

Once the door closed, the real tension set in.

The air was dense, suffocating us with each second we decided to stay silent. Eyes avoided each other.

Fuck, he just didn't know where the hell to begin.

"When the rock hit me, I got some memories back." You finally said, clearing my throat. "I don't remember a lot, just small things. I just can't believe my entire memory was changed by me of all people."

He remembered the blatant fear that was in his system the moment he saw you collapsed. It disgusted him how much he cared for you at times.

"You did it to protect me." Bakugou sniffed. His handcuffed hands lifted to his face, wiping his nose. He just wanted the stupid tears to stop.

They weren't like him.

You laughed pitifully for myself, "Seems like it didn't work in the end." Though he wished he did. He couldn't protect you.

"Didn't know you have a sister." He looked away again, the discomfort setting in.

"Had." You corrected. "Her name was Yusara- only seen her in pictures but she was gorgeous. She's actually Senya's twin."

Now that took him by surprise.

You and Senya already looked similar with being two years apart. Never once did it cross his mind that there was a possibility that you had another sibling.

Though there it finally made sense as to why Senya was so protected of you.

Bakugou tried to say something coherently 'nice' but what the fuck was he supposed to say when his childhood friend had a sister he didn't know about?

"She died before we got sent to the mental hospital. My dad got to her and me, took us, and had me watch as she killed her. My dad tries to put her death on me because I couldn't save her. It wasn't that I didn't want to, I just couldn't. And if you're wondering, she died by fire."

He remembered seeing your hoodies and wondering why the strings from there were gone. Or why you and Senya had socks that they would give at trampoline houses.

"And I know it seems stupid but each day it hurts because when I look at Senya, all I see is her. Those comments of when people say we look like twins eat at me so deeply because I know it's not fair that I'm still alive." He watched as you started crying.

It made his own eyes burn causing him to blink continuously to make it go away.

Bakugou didn't know what to do. He'd never seen me cry the entire time we knew each other. Even when All Might had been beating you to a pulp, never once had you shed a tear. You were one of the strongest people he knew but it came at a cost; years of prior pain.

He didn't know how to comfort someone. Never had he been comforted before. So he was going to try his best even if it didn't come out the way he wanted.

"I didn't know you went through so much shit. Explains why you left right after the crash." He said, thinking back to the moment where he saw your car drive away. Never knowing if you were going to come back.

If he was ever going to see one of the only people he cared about again.

"I'm guessing it was because of the putting you in danger crap. Who knows what would have happened if I stood longer." You shrugged, defeated.

"You're back now. That's all that matters to me." He was serious, his tone, his face. None of what he was telling me was a lie. "You don't remember anything?"

You shook my head, looking back down. "No, not really."

That torn him.

He had always hoped you'd remember. Come back to him like he'd always wanted. The hopes he had of us coming back together and being the amazing pair the two of us were. When the dreams started up for him, he just knew you'd come back.

It just wasn't with the memory of him.

"I'm sorry," You mumbled, wiping my nose with the sleeve of your sweater.

"Why are you apologizing?" He asked, harsher than he intended it to come out.

"Because I put you through so much. You went through every day pretending like we didn't have a history behind us. If I could, I'd fix this, take all the pain for you, so you could be happy. Maybe if I were different, this wouldn't have happened."

Something in his just broke.

Made him angrier than anything else could.

He pushed himself off the chair, kicking it back and dropping right in front of you. The chair broke behind him but who gave a fuck at that moment.

You were the only thing he needed to get to.

His hands grabbed your face, forcing your attention on just him. His eyes were laced with such seriousness and determination more than he had ever shown toward anything other than his hero studies.

"Stop. Just fucking stop." He pleaded. "I'm sick of listening to you. I have been threatened, the same fucking dream of you over and over, spent years only thinking about you, and damn near killed by your family. I've been going out of my damn mind for the last two years for you and now your dad is trying to help the League find a way to make the both of us some fuckhead villains. But you know what? I don't care. About them. About the past. You are god damn perfect the way you are and you are not getting rid of me- no matter what you do, no matter what they do, I'm still here. Now, what does that tell you?"

His face was creasing where the anger formed, a slight tint of red to his pale skin. Hands trembling so heavily, tears so badly needing to leave his eyes but he wouldn't let them.

Your hands grabbed his face carefully, the handcuffs clinking lightly from contact. Your eyes searched around his face until finally, neither could resist the temptation.

He could feel your tears running down his face as you two kissed, wiping his thumbs across your face to stop each one.

Rain danced outside, falling harder and harder within the few seconds.

His emotion was put into that kiss, the explanation of his feelings toward you that couldn't be put into words because he never knew how to tell you.

Never did he want to make you feel like you weren't wanted. He didn't spend years waiting and hoping for you to come back to watch it go by a waste.

It was you.

You who made him feel whole. Made him feel like he wasn't so bad of a person and just knew that you would always be there for him even when he was being a so-called narcissist.

Somehow you understood him. Understood the morals behind his consistent anger and that's all he wanted.

All he needed.

With your lips against his, the emotions were just flowing- the thunder roaring behind you guys.

"We'll get through this shit, okay?" His voice was barely a whisper. He held you in his arms softly as you nodded.

"Okay."

After a few minutes, your tears eventually ran out, the rain outside stopped. Your dad came back and so did the League to take care of him.

He couldn't stop thinking about everything you told him as they chain him back up. They brought a new chair for him and were saying things to him but he wasn't listening.

How could he after all that happened in such a short time?

He looked up, your eyes connecting quickly. There was the slight green and gold shine in your eyes that told him your powers were given back.

'We'll get outta here, alright?' He told you with confidence.

You nodded lightly, smiling back, 'Alright, I trust you.'

He was determined to have you in his life for as long as he could.

—


	30. (29) Petrichor

I was always better alone.

Having the smallest amount of remote care for someone led to a negative. Whether that be you love them more than they could love you. Or caring for them was emotionally damaging. The list could go on.

There's a fear in me now that I've developed.

One involving that care for people. It was too dangerous for me to love. Too much of a risk for the person I did love. The love could have been platonic; only a friendship, between my brother and mom, and even with my dad who I did love.

I looked for attention from him, an approval that I, at the time, didn't know I wasn't ever going to receive because that hadn't been what he wanted from me.

As a child, you don't understand the concepts of abuse or how a family was supposed to be. Everything is learned in this world. And it took me long to learn that my dad's ruthless names were not ones of daughterly love.

I wanted to be just like him though now I'd say that's a fucking terrible idea.

I wanted to be powerful and have a high impact on people's lives that they'd just know my name with one look. I wanted to work under him, live out to the expectation he held on me.

Through training with him, I'd push myself to match his power. My body couldn't keep up and I'd ended up more hurt which in the end, made him more upset.

Because I was a damaged piece that he couldn't fix no matter how much he tried to repair me.

Of course, eventually, I started to understand that his words and actions of 'encouragement' were not what I thought.

I think that's where things started to change between him and I.

More arguments occurred along with more hitting. His solution had been isolating me, blocking me from everyone who could have been a possible distraction. People who would 'taint' me and try to save me from his toxic ways.

Through that, I learned that I was not loved. I was not cared for as a person but more as an object of power. His successor that would not lead with a smile but kill against my will. My self-worth declined even with being young.

I fantasized about growing up in this family with all this support from my dad and mom with my two siblings. Excepted to go to the park like normal children and eat out like a family.

I wanted love in a home that did not love me.

It had been a reality that took a toll on me bringing me into a state where I felt like I couldn't find any happiness. The thought that this would be my life forever and I'd just have to learn to live with it.

But something in me just wouldn't let that happen. Something just told me that there was better to come.

So I fought back against him. I didn't need anyone to tell me that what he was doing was wrong because I had learned myself. I found a speck of light in the dark parts of my life and grabbed them by the balls. I did it for the sake of Senya, Yusara, and my mom who were all suffering with me. Though in the end, it was more for me.

Because in the end, no one will be there except myself. I'm all I have.

It goes back to the fear of love. Every person I have cared for has gotten hurt because of me. I've tried to stop it by leaving like I did with Bakugou yet somehow he was in a sorta danger because of me.

He scared me the most-- caring for him I mean.

I didn't know we were childhood friends when I first came back to Musutafu and even then, I naturally was able to speak to him. Create a connection with him that maybe he and I already had.

You'd think that after all these years that connection would be gone. We'd grown up so much in the span of those years, we were bound to have differences, it was inescapable.

The thing was I always liked being alone. It was easier. But yet I'd rather be alone with him.

It was such a conflicting feeling since I knew I should have kept my distance before things developed yet I couldn't. There was always something about him that naturally pulled me toward him even if I was able to point out his flaws.

He has many flaws.

But it was okay because I do too.

And he didn't judge me for them. Sure, he rubbed them in my face and pointed out my bullshit when I'd pull it but he'd never use it against me in an argument. Because somehow he loved my scars that I couldn't bear to look at.

There's a quote that I read in a book. It goes:

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflections of ourselves we find in them." - Thomas Merton: No Man is an island

I think about that quote when I compare my relationship with Ren to the one I'm developing with Bakugou.

Ren was everything I wasn't naturally. His personality was bright, he truly did care for everyone he knew but of course, his flaws overtook those positives. There was more than cheating to that problem though.

Because he was naturally blessed in all areas of his life, he almost excepted the same from me. Tried to mold me into a copy of him or what he thought his perfect girlfriend was.

I wasn't what he wanted personality-wise, it was obvious. But I was hot- let's not lie about that. If I looked the part for him, then I fit it. Obviously that didn't last long though.

We were too different. He had his own dreams and ambitions compared to me who didn't know what the hell I wanted half of the time.

He was someone I wasn't worried about losing.

But it doesn't mean it still didn't hurt seeing him go.

I said I was fine but I never said I wasn't hurt.

It grew hard for me to turn the page and go onto the next chapter of my story to know that he wouldn't be coming along.

I created memories with him and even with my dad. Yeah sure, both were bad to me and for me but there were some good things I could recall. It was part of the reason why I believed for the longest time that my dad would change and why it still hurts sometimes knowing he won't.

Sometimes the memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks.

And I let them because I need to feel pity for myself when I know no one else will.

I'm proud of myself in the end. Because it takes a type of grace to stay in cruel situations. Takes a heap of strength that I maybe didn't have but developed.

Since all of my development, I try to take everything day by day, second by second. Because one day there won't be a tomorrow.

Why would I want to die with regrets of what I wasn't or what I hadn't done?

If I was going to die, I'd want it to be the way I wanted to. By my rule.

Who knows, maybe I'd leave a thank you note to everyone who was shit to me and tell them "see you soon" since hell was where they'd be going.

In the end, we all become stories.

And I was going to be the best-seller.

\-----  
Their dream:

Sun was out, no clouds visible in the blue sky. The leaves on the trees shook sending small pink flowers raining on the ground so gracefully.

It was a sight to see.

"Suki! Zu! Come outside and bring Sen!"

The four children were at the Yuma's house. It was a tradition where their mom's also wanted the time together.

"Y/n be careful. We don't need you falling off the slide again." Kage sighed as she watched her daughter dragged the boys into her backyard.

She was full of energy, excited to have her friends by her side for the entire day.

Senya walked to the side of his mom stopping at her side. She looked down at him. "Senya, watch your sister please."

The ten-year-old sighed, nodding. "Yeah, I got it, mom." He walked outside into the backyard, sitting on the grass as he went back to his game.

Y/n slid down the slide, crashing into Katsuki who was at the other end. They laughed, their voices echoing against the walls.

"Sorry, Suki." She giggled, standing up. She wiped her knees attempting to take out the grass stain. "Zuku, why don't you take a turn?"

The boy nodded excitedly with Katsuki going behind him up the ladder. Y/n stood at the end, smiling waiting for them.

"Hurry up, Deku! We don't have all day." Katsuki rushed, pushing Izuku aggressively.

"I'm going, Kacchan. Give me a second!" He whined, frowning the slightest.

"Be nice to each other, guys!" Y/n sighed, shaking her head. She never liked the fact that the two had a difficult time getting along.

She'd try to convince Katsuki to be nice and try to be friends but it wouldn't last. He wouldn't budge.

The two boys went down the slide with Katsuki angrily stomping to Senya. He sat down on the ground, only for Y/n to yell at him to get up.

Nothing was wrong. Everything felt right.

But no moment lasts forever.

The image of the memory disappeared, turning into particles of dust that flew away with the wind that had not seemed to be around. It was dark for a moment, nothing but pitch black.

It had not lasted long until the surrounding black turned into a new image.

It was a town, a broken one. A light filter of blue sat upon the broken buildings. No civilian life around. A few fire trucks and cop cars but they were empty.

Dust was around the area, surrounding the broken building. It was a symbol of something yet couldn't figure out.

Y/n looked around for a person, someone to explain what was going on and what was happening. Though she saw no one near her, in the distance the was a guy.

He saw her too.

They couldn't see each other's faces; they were almost blurred from their view. Everything was visible but their faces.

But why?

Slowly they walked to each other but when they did, the ground beneath them began to break. They stopped looking down at it. It was right between them, perfectly at center.

She tried to speak but nothing would come out. He reached for her, confused. They had no idea what was going on until the image changed again.

It was the same area. Same lighting but now there was rain.

It was pouring heavily, weighing down everything around it. Dropping the temperature until it was freezing and the warmer part of air were puffing noticeably.

Y/n looked around rapidly looking for him.

She walked around, moving up the broken piece of the buildings being careful. She could hear something in the distance, see someone also.

The closer she got the more she saw it was multiple people.

Her speed because slower as she saw.

Her dad was in the distance, his face with joy, too much of it. He was being handcuffed and was blinded by the blindfold over his eyes.

Another person was also, but she didn't recognize him. He seemed to have no face, strangely only a suit.

She looked around again and paused.

He was there, on the ground, holding something. Or someone for that matter. He had light tears, they were rolling down his cheeks.

She walked closer noticing that he was speaking. But even then she couldn't hear what he was saying. It was also like he hadn't even seen her standing there.

Y/n bent down, looking at who he was holding. They were noticeably unconscious, their body not holding any of its weight. His hand was pressed into to stomach, blood slowly coming through their shirt.

Finally, he pushed their hair from their face, revealing who the person was.

Y/n fell back onto the ground from her crouched possible. Her eyes were wide, in shock, disbelief.

She had been staring at her own dead body.

———

"Bakugou!" I tried to grab onto him, take hold of his hand but it was too late. Slowly, one by one, each of the villains disappeared with the black mud.

All Might tried to reach for Bakugou with me but he also was unsuccessful. You were able to see the sheer amount of regret and pain that he held. He was inches away and still wasn't quick enough.

He was too slow.

Everything from there went into full chaos. The Nomu were coming from everywhere in the proximity of the League's hideout. The police's gunshots echoed around.

I had been ready to turn and assisted the police since it looked like they needed it but before I could, my arm was grabbed.

"You're not going anywhere." My dad grit through his teeth. His grip just grew tighter and tighter the more I tried to pull away.

"All Might! Ryu!" Endeavor yelled from outside. He had been distracted, fighting off the Nomu but noticed when he happened to turn away.

The heroes around lunged at us all at once, reaching out to grab me. I made eye contact with Kamuni before he disappeared.

The League's hideout was gone, replaced with a new surrounding. One that I recognized almost immediately and I hated it.

Though, I could tell the environment was a change in reality. His powers were in the works and his goal was to torture me.

"Why are we at the old house?" I asked while I walked around. Everything was like it was before we left. The furniture in the same places, the picture frames of what our family was before he ruined it.

Through the windows, I could see the shed where he kept Yusara.

"As a reminder of where you started. And where you could be." He explained. His eyes were stuck on me, making sure I would pull anything. "This is where your journey started."

"And ended," I said, turning away from the wall to face him. "Because I totally want to be reminded of the times I was beaten like an orange. Or maybe it was a banana? Those bruise pretty easily." I shrugged, looking back at the frames.

"Y/n, you hold a great deal of power. Perhaps more than me. You could be at the top of the caster world! Even in this horrid society of wannabe heroes." He walked to the side of me. I never once took my eyes off the walls.

"You know." I looked at the picture in front of me. My hand lifted up, grazing the smooth surface of the clear glass. "I used to admire you. Used to idolize the shadows you walked in front of because I thought it meant I'd have your attention. But I never did."

There was a slight sadness in my voice but not for the fact that I was sad. More of pity for myself. I was a helpless child who knew nothing because it had not been taught to me.

And now I was trying to be who I needed back then.

"You ruined me. Why would I listen to anything I'd say?"

"I'm powerful, dear. My skills far exceeded ones of our ancestors who spent years understanding the ins and outs of our greatness." He began. He looked at the same picture frame before looking back down. "My parents had no care for me either. They idolize my brother, only basking in his achievements."

He never spoke of my grandparents. Never once did he even in the slightest way imply them in any nature. So I knew this had to be important.

"They'd leave during the day with him to his events. Of course, they'd forget about me but leave food in the freezer for when I'd arrive home to their empty home. I was unwanted." He walked around the room as he spoke, taking each word at a time. "When I turned 16 and was claimed for the dark, I was kicked out of the house and abandoned. I had a job at the time. Paid for a small apartment where'd I'd live out the rest of my education, alone."

"What's the point of you telling me this?" I was curious, skeptical for that matter. It wasn't normal for him to share out his life when he hadn't with me before.

"My point is this idea you believe in, love, it is not real. It is an idea placed into our mind that we humans hold onto to feel happy but it only causes us pain. One day, you'll grow up to be a mature young woman and see all the pain you were put in because of it. Together we could bring this world into something better!"

I shook my head. "But that's not what I want."

"And why wouldn't you? You could have Japan as an entirety bowing down to your power." He was shocked. His ideas surrounded power and only that. Anything else was irrelevant to him.

"Because part of being human is feeling pain. Yeah, you had a shitting childhood, so what? I still fucking hate you, but you have to admit that you did love at one point. It's not about power at all." I didn't want to be nice to him, but it had been one of the rare moments where I felt like he wasn't out to kill me.

"You're idiotic at times, Y/n. You look for the good in this world when there is none. Everyone is too selfish and you are a victim." He spat. He grabbed a frame and let it drop to the floor.

Glass shattered everywhere.

"You are the most selfish person I know. You don't realize what you did to our family! You killed your own blood, torture us until each of us were at the brink of going fucking insane." I yelled, stepping over the glass.

It crushed underneath my shoes.

"I will never forgive you for what you did. If you ever think once that I would side with you or whatever the hell you want, you're wrong." I got close to his face, staring up at him through my eyebrows. "I'd rather die."

"Then you're life would be shorter than you think." A single eyebrow of his arched. He was challenging me, testing my limits.

"Kill me now and I guess we'll figure out."

He stood quiet. Unsure of how to respond. Even when looking into his thoughts, there was nothing. Only the quiet sounds of my light laughter.

I bent down grabbing the photo that laid in the pieces of glass. My fingertips bled lightly, staining the back of the photo lightly. Smears now blended into the white of it.

"Here's what I learned: you can't have me die. You won't let it happen--even if I did it to myself. A suicide." I looked at the picture but mostly at the child version of myself. "This game you're playing-- the one where you try to ruin my life in hopes of seeing me break and turn into you-- won't work. Because in the end, I have more control over you than you do over yourself."

The fingers that held the photo snapped, a flame sparking and destroying the photo in seconds.

"I'm the key piece to your master plan. Whatever I do changes everything for you. Your plans, your ideas. Everything." I laughed again but mostly toward myself. "It's almost like this entire time, I was the villain in your life. And I thought it was the other way around."

He warped behind me, putting me in a headlock with his mist-sharpened hand ready to go into my stomach. "You keep your mouth shut!"

"Do it! If what I'm saying is wrong, then why don't you do it!" My head was facing the shed that was outside. All I could Imagine was Yusara walking outside. Her tears running down her face and her screams from when he killed her. "You did it to Yusara. So you could do it to me."

He pushed me onto the ground aggressively, making my palms sink into the glass. I could hear him yell frustratedly as he rubbed his hands across his face. The impediment and anger were radiating from him at such an even stream.

"Yusara deserved her death, she was not any near where you and your brother were at. She was a failure!" He was trying to convince himself of the statement. The words coming out of his mouth without thought, without the feeling of real emotion.

"Please, spare me the excuse. Cry while you're at it, maybe I'll believe you." I got up from the ground dusting off the glass shards.

"You're more like me than you think, Y/n--"

"Make yourself believe that but we both know that I'm not. I'm stronger, you can't stand it. You know I will surpass everything you've worked years for and that pisses you off." With each word, I took a step toward him not caring if he attacked me or tried to hurt me. "I am so sick and tired of running from you. I am so sick and tired of you acting like you control my life even when you're not around because you don't! I may be your blood, but I am not taking the title of being your daughter."

"Watch your mouth, young lady!" He grabbed my face, bringing it close to his fist.

"You can beat me, shame me, break me until I'm nothing but I will pick up the piece and rebuild myself to become even stronger. In fact, you haven't even broken me. You don't own the power to do that." I kept direct eye contact with him the entire time making sure my words would hit him. Set a steady fire in his soul that he couldn't even set out himself.

"You want control of my life? Well, you won't have it." I pushed him off of me and ran toward the wall behind him.

Faintly in the back, I could hear his yells and steps behind me as he knew what I was going to do. My hands prepared themselves, balling up with the black mist surrounding my hands.

Right as he grabbed my arm to pull me back, I punched the wall.

The reality he'd created was in an abandoned building still in Hosu City. It crumbled down on us, falling as the way a line of dominos would. The loud crashing echoing through the broken city and rumbling against the ground.

It had been like the building was a symbol of our relationship.

The building; standing tall with its people admiring its glory, its will to stay standing even through the toughest of storms. Through the darkest of nights, it shined so brightly, you could barely ignore its lumnacity.

Like all things, it started to change, growing older and not being able to fight those variables much as it had done before. The aesthetics that people once enjoyed were drowning out. Losing their interest and realizing there was much more to see and look at.

And one day like today, the building could no longer stay up.

No more patches, replacements, nothing could fix what was broken. It crumbled down like powder, no longer being idolized. But yet no one missed it.

Because when old things fall.

New things rose.

and for once in my life, I felt free.


	31. (30) Tacenda

Edward Scissorhands.

A man who very much wanted to be friends with everyone yet struggled because of one thing: his hands. They were scissors, sharp ones, quite shiny if you asked me.

Well, maybe he didn't want to be friends with everyone (he was fairly awkward).

Everyone had an attraction to him since his hands were different. But no one understood that he could hurt someone. He could kill by accident.

In the society he lived in, he was considered a freak. Categorized an outcast simply from looks and without any other arguments against it. No person attempted to get to know him and it started only by curiosity.

Though someone tried to love him, he couldn't love them. He couldn't hold them for too long, couldn't give the affection they deserve. The fear of accidentally hurting them, scratching them for what would be permanent.

I feel like I could understand Edward, relate to him.

Being a caster naturally had its up and down.

It could have been because I was a caster or because I wasn't necessarily ugly. Maybe it's narcissistic but it's hard to believe that after all the shit I've gone through that I'm still this attractive.

The mirror would agree with me.

Back to the point, I spent most of my life alone. Even if I had siblings, my mom, and the few friends who I wouldn't call friends. I somehow always felt alone.

It's a dark feeling, loneliness.

I've tried coping through avoidance and it doesn't help but during those moments it just feels so good. I'm sure Edward felt the same.

Before you say I sound like I'm insane, I'll make it forward now and say I am a type of fucked it.

I have a pretty happy personality but a heavy soul. Sometimes it gets weird, out of order honestly. It gets confusing when sometimes you don't even understand how you're supposed to feel but sometimes I do?

Anyways...

Villain was what I had always been called. A creature that was not fit into society because I didn't have a quirk and because of that, I would not be accepted. I was human but just a different kind.

Of course, it made it ten times better that my dad grew to be the person he is: a villain.

He scratched that name into our skin to where everyone and everything could only see us as that. No blink of pity or guilt laid in a person's eye because all they saw was evil.

But we weren't that.

We were tired souls that roamed around just looking for a place to rest. They didn't know what we went through so I understood their fear, their rush to say away from us.

But it built up to where I kept a shield to protect myself from the monster that they saw. I never cleared my name because I didn't know-how.

I was bad at words, bad at emotions.

I could only feel emotions, theirs, that spilled out horrors of pain, fear, and much more toward me. But once again.

I hated that.

Being title without argument to what I could be pissed me off. The act of judging another just because of a related relationship. Because I was my dad's daughter.

I wanted my own path, a road that was only for me that I made for myself because I was different than him. I was going to be stronger, better, and happier for myself.

Because someone made me feel like there was something to fight for. Someone to look forward to the next day.

Allowed me to understand those feelings I felt brand new to and grasp them like the last pieces of air I needed.

I was horrible at words so most stories had been through my eyes. My stories.

And he understood it all with one look. I didn't need to explain myself because even then, he didn't care. He looked at my emotional flaws and saw them as battle scars because I was his warrior.

So in the end, maybe Edward and I did find our happiness.

——

I woke up in the hospital.

The shit was cold, the undeniable freezing temperatures of the room seeping into my skin at a rate faster than I'd like.

Never once did I feel cold but this time I did.

"Do need a blanket or some'?" Senya asked, walking into the room. He put down a tray and his sweater around the chair next to my bed.

"I want to leave." I kept my eyes on the TV as I flipped through the channels. I was done, frustrated and simply wanted to go home.

"Okay, blanket it is." He mumbled, grabbing one from the shelf. Green glowed from under his grip on the fabric as he warmed it up.

"Could you turn up the heat in the room?" I asked. He threw the blanket over my resting body. He gave me a quick strange look.

"Why are you so cold?" He wondered, placing the tray over my lap.

"I dunno. If I did I'd tell you but for now, turn on the heat." I moved the tray around me as I lifted myself up the back of the bed. "Where's mom?"

"Uh, here's food from the cafe. But I think she's talking with the police or doctor about getting you discharged." He trailed off near the end of his sentence, starring off into me.

I slowly pulled everything from the bag noticing his gaze. "What? Do you want some? I'm not gonna share I just thought I'd ask."

"Did something happen between you and dad?"

I froze a slight second but continued my movements without making my pause too obvious. He was suspicious, left in the dark about the situation.

And I wanted to leave it that way.

"Nothing that's important." I shrugged, taking a bit of my fry.

He wasn't convinced. "Your Caster Mark is over your shoulder right?"

I gave him a death stare. "Don't touch it. Seriously, I'm okay stop worrying."

"Alright, alright. Fine." He put his hands up in a defensive position signaling that he'd stop. "How're your ribs?"

"Breathing is sill iffy but better than before." I shrugged, rubbing my torso. I looked at the TV while speaking. "Mom say anything about dad?"

"You know how she feels about him." He smirked, laughing off the question. He took a fry from my tray while I wasn't paying attention.

"She had to say something. I mean he fucking took me with the League." I joined his laughter. "And yet he's still out there. I thought they'd catch him."

"You know the way he is. Guess we'll have to keep a close eye on you now." He shrugged.

Then there was a knock on the door.

Senya stood up with a sigh, cracking his back. "I'll get it. I bet it's mom or maybe Katsuki."

"Ugh, don't get me excited. But I'm telling you; I wanna punch the shit out of Katsuki for not visiting these past three days." I mumbled, putting up the volume and eating more.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Senya waved his hand without intent as he reached for the door.

I really didn't pay much attention since my food was much more interesting and the movie was getting intense. But it was when I noticed he had the door closed with his head out that I became curious.

"Hey, Sen?" I asked with my mouth still stuffed. "Who's there?"

"Uh..." He tried to answer but then I heard yelling.

"Let me in! I deserve to see her." The person yelled. I felt a certain recognition to them but couldn't pick up right away who it was.

"Go back home. I thought I told you not to fucking near her you piece of shit!" Senya yelled back.

I was ready to get up and check myself until the door slammed open.

There stood the familiar black roots and sliver hair that I had last seen many months ago. I never wanted to see him again.

"Ren, leave. What the fuck are you doing here?" I sighed, throwing my head back on the bed. I groaned covering my face.

"I came to see you." He explained, walking toward me. Senya behind him looking like he was about to lose his shit.

"No one asked you to so go. Bye." I waved signaling it was his time to leave. He was making my food taste not as good as it had before-- the pain.

"Seriously. C'mon Y/n be nice." Ren shook his head in disappointment at my actions, though it hadn't been like I cared.

"Be nice? To you? Never." I grabbed the remote and put it louder to drown out his voice. Even though I'd done that, I was still able to hear him.

"I came all the way out here to check up. I heard what happened with your dad and saw on the news the aftermath." He explained. He leaned his arm against the wall, looking down at me.

"Seriously Ren, leave. You came here voluntarily, all on your own. You saw the news. That's enough information for you. I really don't need to explain anything especially to you." I dismissed, rolling my eyes at him.

"We've gone through a lot Yu—"

"Don't use the nickname you gave me." I cut him off bursting into a small fit of laughter. "I don't care what we went through anymore. I will not hesitate to call your mom and let her know that you're a cheating asshole and fucking liar."

He stood quiet, looking at the ground before shaking his head. "You've changed a lot, Y/n."

"And I think you would too if you almost died." My tone was serious much like my face. "I realized my worth Ren. Maybe you should fix yours because you mean nothing to me now."

"Fine. Don't know why I wasted my time." He scoffed walking out the door.

"Don't know why you did either..." I mumbled under my breath. Senya closed it behind him, leaning his back against the door facing me.

"Damn that was harsh." He chuckled shaking his head. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I sighed. I tried to eat my food once more yet it tasted bitter. Unappetizing now that the vibe in the room had been offset to a less enjoyable atmosphere.

"The guy's pushy." Senya laughed, shaking his head. "What did you ever see in him?"

"I dunno honestly. I think about it now... like the love he and I shared wasn't real." I sighed, throwing my hands over my face.

"Why you say that?" He wondered. He took off his shoes, placing his feet at the corner of my bed.

"It was forced I feel. I don't want to get too gross and sensitive over the subject but he was just someone I latched onto because dad never loved me." I was lying to myself a bit, let's be honest. Bits of me did love him but there had been too many negatives.

"Daddy issues..."

I gasped, grabbing the pillow from behind me and whacking him with it. He bursted into a fit of laughter. He took the pillow from me since I had been continuously hitting him with it.

"Didn't have to call me out like that." I huffed crossing my arms against my chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He apologized through this last couple of laughs. "Seriously though, do you think ever love someone and not have fake shit? I could tell too that your heart was just not in it ninety percent of the time."

"I dunno."

There was a lengthy silence. Both my brother and the air waiting for me to respond.

Our conversation took a turn, whether it had been a positive or negative one. Though I had to be honest with myself, I liked having more serious talks with my brother.

"I told you that I wasn't going to talk about what happened with dad but he confessed to being failed by love. It's hard to believe that but I feel that in this world, in society, love is such a, I guess you can say glamorized thing. There are so many forms of it and the ones you hear about are just too perfect. If I'm gonna spend my time being in love, I want it to be real, not perfect but not horrible."

"You have it right in front of you. The dude waited years and still even then you two are stuck like glue to each other. Stop waiting because I know you know that eventually it'll be too late and you won't be able to go back. If he makes you happy then it doesn't have to make sense to the rest of us." Senya said, his gaze locked on his hands the entire time he spoke.  
Senya wasn't one for emotional pep-talks.

I could tell that this was different for him. A realm of speeches that he had not been ready to give to his younger sister but yet was willing to give. He was a passionate person though there had been times he would not broadcast to the public.

I knew he was being serious, so I nodded.

"Yeah, okay. I'll do that." I agreed.

It was going against everything I stood by. The mental rules I made with myself to instill the safety of those I loved. But yet these feelings had grown, accumulated at such speeds that I couldn't keep up with them all at once.

So for once, I was going to take the risk and pray for the best.

The door opening made the both of us jump. "Hey, you two. I'm just finishing up some forms and you should be able to come home tomorrow, honey." My mom smiled, walking over to me, and gave my head a quick kiss.

I noticed lightly that was a hesitance in her actions but chose to ignore it.

"Okay, thank you, mom."

\---

A few days had passed. Most of my time had been spent in my room either sleeping or eating since I felt I hadn't gotten much of either lately. So much had gone on, I'd completely forgotten how it felt to be lazy.

My body and soul were finally at peace after so many long days of discomfort. If I could, I'd never leave my bed. But sadly, today we had visitors.

"Hello, All Might. Mr. Aizawa." My mom greeted as she opened the door.

"Hello, Ms. Yuma. We're here in regards to the letter that had been sent here not too long ago by the school." Aizawa told her. His jacket was held against his chest, not being worn.

I gave him a half-smile.

"Yes, of course. Please come in." She held the door out letting them walk in. As she stepped back I did also and bumped into Senya who I didn't know was there. I was going to step forward and follow them until Senya held my arm.

"How do you think this is gonna go?" He whispered close to my ear.

I shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not too sure. She's been in a weird mood lately."

"Do you think she's still mad about dad taking you?" He wondered, peeking into the next room.

"Maybe? I'm not sure. Let's go before they get suspicious." I grabbed the cuff of his long sleeve and pulled him behind me to the living room.

We quietly entered the room walking behind the sofa our mom had sitting in. Senya and I eyed each other as we sat on each side of her.

"I'm assuming this is your son?" All Might questioned.

Senya nodding, leaning forward with his hand out. "I'm Senya. Nice to meet you, sir."

"Nice to meet you also. You have very polite kids, excellent students." All Might complimented.

It had been strange.

I had been accustomed to seeing him in his more muscular forms. He was the hero in everyone's life whether it had been literally or through the ways others idolized him.

Even then, I still felt a sense of star-struck by him.

"Thank you." My mom smiled, looking at the both of us.

Aizawa turned his head toward me noticing I was finally out of the hospital. "How are you feeling Yuma? Glad to see you better."

"I feel less crappy. Luckily it was only a fractured rib so recovery girl was able to heal it once it was good enough to." I explained, rubbing my rib cage as I did.

"Let's get into the topic, shall we?" All Might began. Everyone nodded.

"I'm assuming this is about having the students move onto the campus, correct?" My mom wondered. I could sense a bit of unsettlement in her.

Being honest, it made me nervous.

"Yes. Since the recent events, we would like to increase the safety watch on our students and make sure we have a closer eye on them before." All Might said, using his hands to talk.

"I'd like to start off by apologizing to you Ms. Yuma. Y/n was met to be until my supervision during the time she had been taken. I take full responsibility for the course of events that occurred that night." Aizawa interrupted.

From a single look at him, I was able to see that his mind had been replaying that night again. He arrived shortly after I had been taken. Regret lived in him, thick sheets of anger but aimed at his inner self.

He felt failed in the area of protecting his students and was unable to let go of the burdens.

What was strange to me was that I never had this ability before? Where the hell did this even come from?

"Please, don't apologize. In the end, it was all Y/n's fault."

"Huh?" Senya and I turned to her with stern questionable faces.

"She let her darkness overcome her way of thinking correctly and she chose to follow her father. She chose to follow through his path." She went onto say. There was no second of thought behind her words.

"What the fuck are you saying, mom? She was trying to save Katsuki." Senya asked, shocked like the rest of us. He was offended, taken back.

The two teachers sat back, unable to come to words on what to say. They were speechless.

"Dark is in her nature. Even now she is turning out to become more and more like her father and there's no way of reversing it. It's only a matter of time."

"Dark is in my nature because I'm half of it! We both know the reason— why is this even a conversation right now? At this time?" I was confused, blinded by a light rage that my sense of patience had completely disappeared.

"Your caster mark was tampered with. It's only a matter of time—"

"Mom, stop." Senya warned, his grip on the couch getting tighter.

"Excuse me, but I don't believe you should be talking to your daughter that way." Aizawa joined in, ending his silence.

"It was tampered with because dad took my powers for a bit. He hit me for fucks sake! Why would I turn into him?" I ran my hands through my hand, closing my eyes for a few long seconds.

"You're broken. You were born that way and will stay that way until you die because that's just who you are Y/n." She finally turned her head making direct eye contact with me.

I'd never seen this look on her.

The green in her eyes was vibrant, protecting her. They showed signs that her power was active in her body. She was nervous, terrified.

Heartbreak settled in me.

Not the traditional type. But the type that I felt so similarly to my dad. The feeling, the sense that I had been losing her slowly. Losing the trust she'd had in me.

Being taken by my dad brought her to think that I'd not longer have the light in me to stay both sides. She'd assumed that being surrounded by his darkness for so long had been the done deal.

Assumed.

The feeling I withheld in these moments were similar to the ones of a spiral. They were spinning down at steady yet uncontrollable rates. They were unbalanced, unsettled from the heavy weight of betrayal.

"When will I ever be able to breathe?" I said, a thick sense of tiredness in my tone. Not the tired you'd feel after not sleeping all night.

Tired of the way life was treating me even after doing everything the way I thought was right for me.

There was always battles in my life that I'd had to fight with the people I thought would be by my side. Would have my side protected.

"When will I ever get to be upset? When will I actually feel happy for a long time?" I asked my mom not excepting an answer back but yet a need, a craving for one. "Seriously because sometimes I think people forget that I'm still a child. I still feel shit that sucks and when people say things like that--" I paused looking down at my hands. "It really hurts."

I got up walking across her to leave the room. Senya grabbed my hand. "Y/n, let's talk this out, please."

This was hurting him the most.

For having such a close relationship with our mom, this was one of the last things he'd expect from her. The last thing he'd expect his role model to say.

"No." I shook my head. "I'm moving on campus and not coming back here. I don't want to be surrounded by people who will tear me down."

As I left the room, I stopped in the hall up the stairs.

My forehead was against the walls' uneven surface. The cold temperature connecting with my oiler skin.

A single tear life my eye.

The amount of tears that had left my eyes recently had been too many for my liking. I had usually been level headed, rarely cried.

I didn't feel like I deserve this.

My mom had been my backbone. One of the only nurturing pieces of family I had left since my dad had left us. But in the end, her true feelings were let out.

I was wrong again. She was just like the rest of them.

And I couldn't put myself through this kind of pain again.

New Message  
To: Bakuhoe  
Sneaking out. Expect me in a few minutes.

\----


End file.
